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A bowl of reduced, jellied duck stock.
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5 / 5 votes

Homemade Duck Stock

This homemade duck stock calls for meaty duck necks, carrots, onions, and thyme. Once reduced, it becomes a luxuriously rich jiggly stock.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time11 hours 30 minutes
Total Time12 hours
Course: Mains
Cuisine: American
Servings: 24 servings | 6 to 8 quarts
Calories: 63

Ingredients

  • 25 pounds duck necks, fresh or frozen (ordered from D'Artagnan)
  • Mild vegetable or olive oil
  • 2 1/2 pounds yellow onions, roughly chopped
  • 2 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
  • Handful fresh thyme
  • 4 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 1/4 cup store-bought or homemade tomato paste
US - Metric

Instructions

  • Slide an oven rack into an upper third position and another into the lower third slot in the oven. Crank the heat to 400°F (204°C).
  • Rinse the duck necks in cold water and pat them very, very dry. Don't skimp on the patting-them-dry part, or the necks will steam instead of roast, which means you can say goodbye to those delectable caramelized bits of duck skin and fat that ought to stick to the baking sheet and impart an unspeakable amount of flavor to the stock.
  • Line two rimmed baking sheets or roasting pans with aluminum foil. Dump a few big handfuls of duck necks onto the pans, drizzle them with some of the oil, and toss to coat them well. Place the necks, side by side, in a single layer. Any extra necks will have to wait for the next batch.
  • Roast the necks, turning them several times, until they turn a deep mahogany and the bottoms of the baking sheets are glazed with anatine goodness, 45 to 60 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, find a very, very, very large pot. Barring that, two large ones. Using tongs, transfer the necks to the pot(s) as they come out of the oven and forget about them while you roast the rest. I ended up with nine baking sheets' worth of necks; they took quite some tIme to roast, although it was mostly unattended.
  • If you like, when you're done roasting, slide the empty baking sheets on top of the stove and turn the burners beneath them to medium. Drizzle in a little water, scrape up the browned bits with a spoon, and pour the liquid gold into the pot. Every bit counts.
  • Add enough cold water (not warm or hot but cold) to cover the necks by several inches. Bring the water to a gentle simmer—the kind that sends up fairly steady columns of lazy bubbles—and let time work its magic. Skim any scum that forms on the surface. Depending on the size of your pot, this will take anywhere from 1 to 2 hours.
  • Once the scum has pretty much been removed, add the onions, carrots, thyme, garlic, and tomato paste to the pot (or divide them between the two pots). Let the stock burble until the meat easily pulls away from the bones, 4 to 6 hours more. Keep an eye on the pot so the bones and vegetables remain submerged. If the stock level drops too much, pour hot water into the pot.
  • Place a colander in a bowl or pot large enough to hold a vast quantity of stock and carefully pour the stock into the colander to catch the large bits and bobs of meat and bone. (Watch out, it's hot!) Toss out the contents of the colander, because if the stock was cooked properly, the liquid will have leached every last iota of flavor from the meat (although the remnants did make a great meal for our Devil Cat, Rory). Wash the pot well and set it aside.
  • Line a fine sieve with several layers of paper towels and place it over the pot. Slowly pour the stock through the sieve. Let the stock filter through, without pressing on the paper towels. If you're a perfectionist or simply like a perfectly clear, shimmering stock, you can repeat this step once or twice. The stock will still be hot, so set aside the pot until it's cool to the touch.
  • Pour the stock into resealable plastic bags and place them in the fridge until you need them. The stock will last up to a week in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer. You can also pour the stock into ice-cube trays and slide them into the freezer; when they've frozen, pop them out into resealable plastic bags—though I don't recommend doing that with all 8 quarts of stock.

Notes

  1. Thawing--If your duck necks come frozen together, thaw them quickly by running them under cold water until they separate.
  2. Don't rush the process--Making this homemade duck stock recipe is a slow process that cannot be rushed. Plan to make it when you are at home all day.
  3. Storage--This stock will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 63kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.002g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 59mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g