Potato Dressing for Duck

A soft, enriched mashed-potato stuffing meant to go inside a roasting duck, where it absorbs fat and drippings. Two cupfuls fills a 4-5 lb duck with a little to spare.

• Kitchen bouquetA commercial browning and seasoning liquid, caramel-based with vegetable extracts, still sold under that name. A teaspoonful darkens the dressing to a gravy colour; a scant teaspoon of soy sauce or any browning sauce does the same job if you have none.
• Onion juicePeriod cooks grated an onion and pressed out the liquid to get onion flavour without visible pieces. Yields vary a good deal with the onion, so press and measure to the half teaspoon called for; finely grated onion pulp works and is less trouble.
• Mashed potatoesUse potatoes mashed dry and hot, without milk already beaten in, or the dressing will be slack once the cream, butter and yolks go in. Floury varieties give the lightest result.
• Stuff at the last momentMix and cool the dressing, then fill the bird immediately before it goes in the oven. A warm potato mixture sitting in a cavity is the classic conditions for bacterial growth.
• Cooking temperatureThe yolks are raw when the dressing is packed in. The centre of the stuffing must reach 165F, which in practice means checking with a thermometer rather than trusting the duck's own doneness.
• Cooked outside the birdBaked separately in a buttered dish at 350F for 30-40 minutes, it sets into something closer to a potato pudding and browns on top. This is the safer route and loses only the duck fat.
• Nut-meatsThe recipe does not specify which; walnuts, hazelnuts or chestnuts all suit, and chestnuts in particular pair with duck and give body. Toast them first, as they will not crisp inside the moist dressing.
• SeasoningHalf a teaspoon of salt to two cups of potato is light by modern taste, especially if the potatoes were boiled unsalted. Taste the finished mixture before the yolks go in.