Curry duck

Ingredients

Duck

• 1whole duck, about 2 kg, in small pieces
• juice of 3 limes
• 4 tablespoonsgreen seasoning
• 2 teaspoonssalt
• 1 teaspoonblack pepper

Curry base

• 4 tablespoonscurry powder
• 1 tablespoonground geera, cumin
• 1 teaspoonturmeric
• 8garlic cloves, crushed
• 2onions, chopped
• 3cm ginger, grated
• 4 tablespoonsoil
• 2scotch bonnets, chopped
• 6 sprigsthyme
• 8chadon beni leaves, chopped

To cook

• 600 mlwater
• 500 gpotatoes, in chunks, optional
• salt and black pepper

To serve

• roti or paratha
• rice
• pepper sauce
• cucumber chow

Directions

1. Trim off large loose pieces of fat first. Discard that water and its fat. Preparing the duck takes some work. Chop straight through the bone. Trim off any excess skin and fat. Rub the pieces with lime juice. Rinse them and then pat them dry.
2. Rub green seasoning into every piece. Add the salt and black pepper. Cover it and refrigerate it now. Give it at least four full hours. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot. Add the chopped onions to the oil. Cook them for about six minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and scotch bonnets. Cook them for a good two minutes.
3. Mix the curry powder with water to a paste. Add that paste to the hot pot. Fry that paste for a full five minutes. Stir it constantly so it does not catch. The name is misleading, since it must not burn.
4. Oil should separate at the edges when it is ready. Add the geera and the turmeric. Cook them for another full minute. Add the duck pieces to the pot. Turn them over to coat them in the curry.
5. Let them fry for about ten minutes. Stir them regularly as they brown. Pour off any excess fat that gathers. Add the thyme sprigs to the pot. Pour in all of the measured water. It should come about halfway up the duck. Season it with salt and black pepper. Bring it up to a gentle simmer.
6. Cover it and lower the heat down. Let it cook for about an hour. Check it every twenty minutes and stir it. Add the potato chunks after forty minutes. Many cooks add them and many do not.
7. Spoon it off with a large ladle. Keep it for roasting potatoes another day. Take the lid off for the last twenty minutes. Let the sauce reduce and thicken. It should coat the duck rather than flood it. Stir in the chopped chadon beni. Taste it and adjust the salt to suit. Serving it is done hot with roti. Put pepper sauce on the table. It keeps three days refrigerated.

Technique

• A lime is a Trinidadian social gathering, and a river lime is one held by a river where the curry is cooked outdoors over a fire.
• Duck carries a thick fat layer that must be dealt with before the curry starts, by parboiling or hard browning, or the pot ends up oily.
• Burning the curry is the Trinidadian term for frying the curry paste until the raw spice is cooked out and the oil separates, and it must not actually burn.

Substitutions

• Chicken can be curried the same way and needs about half the cooking time.
• Coriander stands in for chadon beni but is much milder, so use about three times as much.

Variations

• Some cooks add potato to soak up the sauce and some leave it out.
• A version with coconut milk is made in some households.
• Curry goat and curry crab are made the same way in Trinidad.

History

Duck curried with plenty of pepper and cooked outdoors, the classic dish of a river lime, a Trinidadian riverside gathering.

Frequently asked questions

What is Curry duck?

Curry duck is a main from Trinidad and Tobago: duck curried with green seasoning, river-lime favorite. Duck curried with plenty of pepper and cooked outdoors, the classic dish of a river lime, a Trinidadian riverside gathering.

How long does Curry duck take to make?

Curry duck takes 40 minutes plus marinating of preparation and 1 hour 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Curry duck?

Yes, within limits. Chicken can be curried the same way and needs about half the cooking time. Coriander stands in for chadon beni but is much milder, so use about three times as much.

What is the most important thing to get right in Curry duck?

Mix the curry powder with water to a paste. Add that paste to the hot pot. Fry that paste for a full five minutes. Stir it constantly so it does not catch. The name is misleading, since it must not burn.