Duck stock is a foundational ingredient in my kitchen.
As a duck hunter, I want to use as much of every animal I bring home as I can, from beak to feet. That means I roast a lot of duck carcasses for stocks.
The process is easy: Roast your carcasses, ideally with a little meat on them, until well browned — about 1 hour at 400°F. Then put the bones in a stockpot, cover with water and simmer very gently for as long as you can stand it, up to overnight.
Pro tip: Wet down your roasting pan with water, scrape all the browned bits off it with a wooden spoon, then add it to the stockpot for added flavor.
I generally only add vegetables late in the game, usually the last 2 hours or thereabouts. This keeps their flavors brighter and more distinct. If you put everything in at once, it’ll be fine, but a bit muddied in flavor.
When you strain your stock, I set a strainer over a big bowl, then set a paper towel in the strainer. I then ladle the stock through this, which keeps it very clear.
You can keep your duck stock in the fridge for a week or so, or you can freeze it for a year. I often pressure can my stock, too. I can it for 20 minutes at 10 PSI, but follow your pressure canner’s directions.
Duck Stock
Ingredients
- Carcasses of 6-8 wild ducks, 3-4 wild geese or 2-3 domestic ducks or geese - include wingtips, neck, hearts and feet if possible
- Olive oil to coat bones
- Salt
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 fennel bulb, chopped (optional)
- 20 to 30 duck or goose feet or a pig's foot (optional)
- 1 large sprig rosemary
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, cracked
- 1 tablespoon juniper berries, crushed (optional)
Instructions
- Chop the carcasses and various duck bits -- except for the feet, if using -- coat them in a little olive oil and salt them well. Arrange in a large roasting pan in one layer if possible; leave out the feet. Roast in a 400°F oven until well browned.
- If you have duck feet, chop them with a cleaver or heavy knife to break the skin and expose the joints and bones. There is collagen in the feet that will seep into the water and give the finished broth more body. Put the duck feet into the pot you are making the stock in. If you're using a pig's foot, just put it into the pot.
- When the duck bits are browned, put into a large stockpot and cover with cold water leaving about 2 to 3 inches of room at the top of the pot. If the roasting pan has a lot of fat in it, drain it off. Add some more water to the roasting pan and scrape up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Add this to the stockpot.
- Cover the pot and bring it to a boil, but as soon as it hits a boil, drop the heat to a bare simmer and move the pot lid slightly ajar. Let this cook very, very gently -- more steaming than simmering -- for as long as you can handle. I let it go overnight.
- When you are ready to add the vegetables, toss them all in and stir to combine. Note that this is the only time you stir this stock. Let them simmer gently for 2 hours.
- Turn off the heat and strain the stock. I do it this way: I set up a big container for the strained stock, like a big Tupperware tub. Over this I set a strainer, and in the strainer I lay a piece of regular paper towel. Now, using a ladle, ladle out your stock so it strains through the paper towel. Doing it this way keeps the stock very clear.
- Your broth is ready now. Salt it to taste, adding a little at a time. You can further concentrate flavors by simmering the strained stock for as long as you'd like. Check every 15 minutes or so.
- Pour into Mason jars and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks, or freeze for up to 9 months. If you freeze, leave at least 1 1/2 inches of headspace in the jars or they will crack. You can also pressure can your stock at 10 psi for 25 minutes (follow your canner's directions for this).
Do you add the herbs with the vegetables, or add them at the beginning?
Licia: With the vegetables.
Hank! You’re the coolest! I will make this stock with the 5 ducks I was recently gifted. Would you recommend removing the skin prior to roasting the carcasses and rendering the fat from them like you recommend with the tail or leaving the skin on through the roasting and stock-making process? Thanks in advance!
Gi: I remove it and render the fat separately.
Can you use leaftover duck meat in the stock?
Freja: Yes you can.
What about the duck’s head…. can you tell me what to do with it – can I roast and through in?
Kathi: I’ve never used a duck’s head because I don’t pluck them that high up. But if you had a plucked duck’s head it would work in stock.
Hi Hank!
We’retrying this recipe for the first time tonight. Juat curious why you advise against using livers in the stock.
Thanks!
Ben: Because it will discolor the stock and add an unpleasant livery flavor.
So I am finishing up a monster batch. Had a 22 qt stock pot and a 24 qt stock pot so stacked with bones and feet that I could barely get the water an inch deep with a reasonable margin. I’d like to think that I have a fair bit of experience with stock making by now. But the last couple batches I have made, something kinda funny happens. After I have sifted and strained out all the solids, and start reducing it down to my desired concentration, my stock starts to develop, well, floaties, for lack of a better word. They aren’t necessarily floating on the surface, so much as churning around throughout the stock. Almost like solids are precipitating back out into the stock. I strained it through a paper towel so there couldn’t be anything left in it, but seeing my stock plum full of these things is a little off putting. Visually at least. It still tastes fantastic of course. I can strain the stock again, but it’s almost like they dissolve, Last batch I strained it right before I pressure canned, and they developed again after canning… Is it how many bones and feet I used? Any idea what is causing this?
Thanks for the recipe. I have made it multiple times with great results. I have one question. Could one also add the heads? I know that many people add chicken heads to chicken stock. Do you have any experience with that sort of thing?
Vojtich: Nope. I don’t have experience with the heads, but I am guessing it shouldn’t be a problem.
Thanks for the awesome recipe! I really like the fact that you get to use some of the other, less popular, parts of the ducks or geese.
Seriously…who has 6-8 duck carcasses laying around? I buy frozen organic ducks every couple of weeks and need to Butcher them myself, and until our hearts me is finished next year, keeping and saving all the carcasses isn’t practical. Even with a big enough second ref, it’s a problem.
Chris J: Hunters. Our daily limit is 7 birds, and we get this often.
Not sure what Ben meant by “not worth the time investment”, since there isn’t much a guy has to do except for parting some geese/ducks and peeling some vegetables. Yeah, it takes a while but all one has to do is mind their own business letting the heat do its thing. Nothing else you can do with those carcasses, necks, etc. anyway. So either a waste or some pretty good stock.
Made some stock yesterday from the “leftovers” of a few white-fronted geese and a couple of pintails shot a few days ago. Turned out to be pretty darn good. Thanks for the recipe, Hank! I skipped the roasting part due to reading the recipe after the boiling had already began, but will definitely try it next time!
By the way, what does roasting exactly do? Adds to flavour, I assume?
Thanks, Hank!
Arty: Yes, it adds a lot of flavor.
Looking to stock up on some stock this year. Can you water bath can the stock, or does it need to be done in a pressure cooker?
Chad: No. You must pressure can stock.
I agree with Tom, this is the first recipe from your site that has not been outstanding. I ended up with about a quart of stock, colored dark orange. I am not sure if by “clear stock” you meant the color of the stock or it being free of sediment. The stock tastes good, but not worth the time investment.