Recipe For Roasted Organic Duck!

Before meeting my husband, I have never experienced cooking a duck from the farm. My husband's parents have live chickens and ducks that they occasionally cut for us. I must say, I was pretty skeptic of cutting the duck and cooking it straight from the farm. Plus, I did not know if I would like the taste because I had tasted duck before and I was not so accepting of it. However this recipe is very good! It is my mother-in-law's recipe and I would like to share it with you. Live chickens and ducks from the farm typically take much longer to cook than store-bought poultry. Plus, you can cook the whole duck with all its "features" (which means liver, heart, neck, etc.) if you so desire.

You will need:

• A whole organic duck, cut into pieces. My mother-in-law cuts mine with her special knife and then I have a sharp knife to cut them even smaller when I want to cook them. It is not easy to cut through the bones, so make sure you have a sharp but sturdy knife. (Make sure to rinse very well!)
• 3-4 tablespoons of oil
• 1/2 to 1 cup warm water.
• Vegetables: about 2 carrots, 1/2 of one onion, and 1 large red pepper cut into medium-sized chunks.
• Seasonings: 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 cup chopped dill weed, 1/4cup chopped parsley, one bay leaf, and 2-3 cloves of freshly chopped garlic.
• About 4-6 potatoes, peeled and sliced into triangular pieces.

Directions:

1. In a large pan with the 3-4 tablespoons of oil, fry the duck on both sides on medium heat. Fry until it is to desired brownness. Add the water (depending on how big the duck is or how much you use of the duck, the water amount varies, make sure to put enough so you can just barely cover the duck)
2. Add your cut up vegetables and seasonings to the duck. Cover, and let simmer for 30 minutes on medium-low heat.
3. Preheat the oven to 350° And arrange the potatoes on a glass baking dish. Pour the duck mixture on top of the potatoes and let it cook in the oven for another 1-2 hours, uncovered until crisp. (A whole farm duck will most likely take 1 1/2 hours, a duck with the insides dumped takes 1 hour, and a store-bought duck will probably take 30 minutes to 45 minutes.

Very simple, yet delicious. Enjoy!