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Slow-Roasted Duck Legs with Crispy Skin

Slow roasted Duck legs with braised red cabbage a duchess potatoes

By Tom · Updated

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  • Serves 2
  • About 2 hours 45 min
  • One to take your time over

These slow-roasted duck legs are served with braised red cabbage and golden Duchess potatoes for a proper dinner at home. A little patience gives you tender duck with beautifully crisp skin, paired with rich, warming sides.

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The recipe

Slow-Roasted Duck Legs with Crispy Skin

These slow-roasted duck legs are served with braised red cabbage and golden Duchess potatoes

  • Serves 2
  • 45 min prep
  • 2 hours cooking
  • One to take your time over

Times and difficulty are our estimates from the method, not stopwatch figures.

Scale
2 servings
Measurements

Ingredients

Duck

Braised red cabbage

Pommes duchesse

Tick things off as you go — they stay ticked if you close the page.

A dotted underline means the amount has been rounded to something you can measure.

Method

  1. Step 1: Prepare the duck

    Pat the duck legs (2 legs) dry. For a French trim, cut around the skin and tendons 2-3cm below the knuckle and scrape the bone clean. Prick the skin without piercing the meat and season well. Wrap the exposed bone tightly in foil to stop it turning brown (25 g) or burning.

  2. Step 2

    Place the duck legs (2 legs) skin-side down in a cold, oven-safe pan. Heat over medium heat for 8-10 minutes until the skin is golden and the fat has rendered.

  3. Step 3

    Turn the legs (2 legs) skin-side up and roast uncovered at 150°C fan (170°C conventional) for 1 hour 40 minutes.

  4. Step 4: Braise the cabbage

    Heat 1 tbsp duck (30 g) fat in a saucepan. Cook the onion (1 onion) for 5 minutes until softened. Add the cabbage (1 (700g)), apple (1 apple), sugar, vinegar (45 ml) and cinnamon (1 tsp). Season, cover and cook over low heat for 1 hour-1 hour 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. If it begins to look too dry, add a splash of water.

  5. Step 5: Make the potato mixture

    Boil the potatoes (750 g) in salted water for 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain and leave to steam-dry for 5 minutes. Mash or rice until smooth, then beat in the butter/duck (30 g) fat, egg yolks (2 yolks), and salt and pepper.

  6. Step 6

    Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle. Pipe rosettes onto a lined baking tray.

  7. Step 7: Finish the duck and potatoes

    Increase the oven to 200°C fan (220°C conventional). Bake the potatoes (750 g) and duck (30 g) for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are golden and the duck skin is crisp.

  8. Step 8

    Rest the duck (30 g) for 5-10 minutes. Serve with the braised red cabbage (1 (700g)) and pommes duchesse.

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Questions people ask

How long does slow-roasted duck legs with crispy skin take?

About 2 hours 45 min from start to finish, of which 45 min is prep and 2 hours is cooking. That figure is worked out from the method rather than timed with a stopwatch, so give yourself a little more the first time.

How many does it serve, and can I change that?

As written it serves 2. Use the scale control on the recipe card to change it: every quantity in the ingredients and inside the method steps updates with it. Seasoning, and anything measured in pinches or splashes, is deliberately left alone.

Can I see the ingredients in ounces and pints?

Yes. The metric and imperial switch on the recipe card converts every quantity, rounded to amounts you can actually weigh or measure rather than to four decimal places. Your choice is remembered for every recipe on the site.