No. 1938

Duckling with Green Mayonnaise and Fine Herbs-Broiled and Roasted—

Caneton Grille et Roti a la Mayonnaise Verte aux Fines Herbes

Broiled.—Split a singed, clean young duckling through the back, open it entirely and flatten well, trim neatly cutting off the legs at the first joint, salt and cover with oil; put it in a hinged double broiler, close and broil over a moderate even fire for about eighteen minutes; when done and of a fine color, dress on a hot dish, serve separately a sauce-boat of green mayonnaise fine herb sauce (No. 612).

Roasted.—After singing and drawing the duckling, truss it for roasting (No. 179) and cook either on the spit or in the oven for twenty-five to thirty-five minutes; baste frequently, salt only when cooked, then untruss and dress on a very hot dish, pour some clear gravy (No. 404), over and garnish around with water-cress seasoned with salt and vinegar.

← No. 1937 Duckling a la Rouennaise Duck & Goose No. 1939 Duckling, Peasant Style →

For the Modern Kitchen Do not make this as written.

Ranhofer assumes a butcher-ready bird and a cook who knows the cross-references. Both methods hinge on the same thing: duckling breast is served pink, and the fat needs somewhere to go.

What a duckling isA bird of roughly 4 to 5 lb dressed, under about two months old. A supermarket Pekin duck is the direct descendant and behaves the same way; a mature duck of 6 lb or more will not cook through in the times given here.
Singeing and drawingBoth steps are done for you now. Singeing burned off residual pinfeathers over a flame; drawing means removing the innards. Pat the skin very dry instead, which matters more for browning than anything else.
The hinged double broilerA wire cage on a long handle that held the flattened bird flat over coals and let you flip it in one motion. A grill basket does the same job, or press the bird under a heavy weighted pan on a grate. Direct-over-coals is the intended heat, not an overhead oven broiler.
Eighteen minutes, spatchcockedThat is realistic only over genuinely hot coals and only for a small bird. Cook to about 130-135F in the thickest part of the breast and 165F in the thigh; the legs will want longer than the breast, so start them nearer the fire.
Flare-upsDuck skin renders a great deal of fat and a moderate even fire is the original's own safeguard against it. Bank the coals to one side so the drippings do not land in flame, or the skin blackens before the leg is done.
Roasting timeTwenty-five to thirty-five minutes on a spit before a fierce fire gives a decidedly rare bird; the book gives no temperature. In a 425F oven expect closer to 45-60 minutes for a 4-5 lb duckling, breast at 130-135F, rested 10 minutes. Prick the skin over the breast and thighs to help the fat run.
Salt only when cookedRanhofer's instruction for the roast bird probably reflects the common belief that early salting drew out juices. Salting the skin an hour ahead in fact dries it and crisps it better; salt the flattened broiled bird as written, since it goes straight onto the fire.
The cross-referencesNo. 612 is his green mayonnaise with fine herbs and No. 404 his clear gravy; both are given elsewhere in the book rather than here. A green mayonnaise of this period is generally a plain mayonnaise tinted and flavored with blanched pounded herbs. Any well-made herb mayonnaise and a good reduced stock will stand in.
YieldOne duckling serves two generously, three at a stretch. The watercress garnish, dressed only with salt and vinegar, is meant as a sharp foil to the fat and is worth keeping.

A Little History

Charles Ranhofer ran the kitchen at Delmonico's in New York and published The Epicurean in 1894 as a complete record of that repertoire, which is why nearly every recipe points elsewhere in the book by number rather than repeating itself. The duckling entries sit in a long run of variations on a single bird, each distinguished only by garnish and sauce, in the French manner of the period. The broiled version is served with a cold mayonnaise while the roast is sauced hot; the green mayonnaise itself, colored with pounded herbs, is the classic sauce verte. Ranhofer's insistence on eighteen minutes for a split duckling, and twenty-five to thirty-five for a whole one, suggests that fashionable American restaurant cooking may have served duck pink long before it became a talking point.