Roast Duck

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  

Lightly score the skin on the breasts in a diamond pattern, using the tip of a very sharp knife.  Salt and pepper the inside and outside of the bird liberally, then place breast side up on a rack fitted into a roasting pan. If a rack isn't available, whole carrots and quartered onions will suffice.

When the oven is hot, put the roasting pan in the center of the oven.  After 30 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and spoon some of the rendered fat from the pan over the duck.

 Put the pan back in the oven and turn down to 325.  Cook for another hour and take the temperature of the bird where the thigh meets the bottom of the breast.  Once it reads 150, remove the pan from the oven and put the duck on a carving board.  

Pour the accumulated juices from the roasting pan through a strainer into a clean jar. You now have rendered duck fat for roasting vegetables and searing meats.  

Carve the duck as you would a chicken or turkey, removing the breasts off the bone first and then the legs.  Don't neglect the wings!  Any remaining bones from the carcass can be chopped with a heavy kitchen knife or cleaver and simmered to make an excellent soup base.