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Traditional Roast Duck Recipe – Oma's traditionelle gebratene Ente

This German roast duck recipe, aka Entenbraten,  is so easy to make for your traditional holiday dinner. With very little work, it goes into the oven and you have time to make all the trimmings. For me, that's potato dumplings (with roasted bread crouton inside) and red cabbage.

Ingredients:

• 1 duck, about 4 pound (1.8 kilograms)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper or seasoning salt, to taste
• 1 large apple, quartered
• 2 celery ribs, coarsely chopped
• 4 large carrots, cut into chunks
• 2 medium onions, quartered
• 1 tablespoon (8 grams) cornstarch

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C).
2. Remove any innards from the duck and rinse it under running water. Pat the duck dry with a paper towel.
3. Season the duck, inside and out, with salt and pepper.
4. Stuff the apple quarters into the duck's cavity. Either sew the cavity shut with kitchen twine or use skewers to close the cavity.
5. Place the duck with the breast side down into a shallow roasting pan. Scatter the celery, carrots, and onions around the duck, and add about 1 inch of water.
6. Place the roasting pan in the preheated oven and roast for 1 hour.
7. Turn the duck over so the breast side is up and continue roasting for another 1½ to 2 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 180°F (82°C) and the leg joint moves freely.
8. About a ½ hour before the duck is fully cooked, baste it with the pan juices.
9. If you want the skin crispier, increase the oven temperature to 400°F (205°C), place the duck in a new roasting pan, and roast it for another 10 minutes or so.
10. Remove the duck from the oven. Loosely tent it with foil and let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving.
11. Meanwhile, strain the pan juices into a bowl. Discard the veggies. Skim off the fat with a spoon (see Tip below) and return some of the pan juices to the roasting pan. Scrape up the browned bits at the bottom with a spoon or spatula.
12. Pour the pan juices from the bowl and the roasting pan into a saucepan, and heat to a simmer.
13. Make a cornstarch slurry by mixing the cornstarch with a bit of cold water. Stir in just enough of the slurry into the simmering pan juices to thicken the gravy. Season with salt and pepper.
14. Cut the duck into 4 pieces, discarding the apples, and serve with the gravy.

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Updated on January 8, 2026