Slow-Cooked Duck Legs with Crispy Skin

No ratings yet

Slow-Cooked Duck Legs with Crispy Skin

Learn how to make slow-cooked duck legs that are incredibly tender and crispy. No pan-fat rendering needed. Simple ingredients, optional garlic and rosemary, cooked in a Dutch oven or roasting tin.

Prep Time10

Cook Time2 30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, German

Servings: servings

Calories: 380kcal

Author: Adina

Equipment

Large Dutch oven with a lid Note 1

Ingredients

4 duck legs Note 2
fine sea salt and ground black pepper
5 large garlic cloves optional, Note 3
3-4 rosemary sprigs optional
¾-1 cup hot water Note 4

Instructions

Thaw the duck legs in the refrigerator – it will take 12-24 hours.
Preheat the oven to 300°F/ 150°C.
Season duck legs: Dry the legs with paper towels and rub them generously with salt and pepper on both sides. I use about 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons of fine sea salt and about ½ to ¾ teaspoon of ground black pepper.
4 duck legs + fine sea salt and ground black pepper
Assemble the pot: Place the peeled but left whole garlic cloves and the rosemary sprigs into the pot. Place the duck legs, skin side up, on top. They should fit inside tightly but not overlap.
5 large garlic cloves + 3-4 rosemary sprigs
Boil some water in the kettle. Add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pot - usually about ¾ to 1 cup; the liquid should sit around 0.2 inches/ ½ cm deep. Pour the water around the legs into the pot, not on top of them, or you will wash away the seasoning.
¾-1 cup hot water
Slow-cook the duck legs: Cover the pot with a tight lid and place it in the preheated oven. Cook for 1 ½ hours.
Remove the lid and increase the oven temperature to 180 °C / 360 °F. Roast the duck legs for another hour, until the skin is beautifully browned and crispy. If you feel the skin isn’t quite crisp enough, you can briefly broil the legs for a few minutes - but watch them closely, as the skin can burn quickly. Personally, I never need to use the broiler; the skin turns out perfectly crisp on its own.
Let the duck legs rest for 5–10 minutes before serving. Rest them uncovered to keep the skin crispy while the juices redistribute, ensuring tender, flavorful meat.

Notes

The pot: I use a large, shallow Dutch oven, but you can also use any heavy, oven-safe pot with a lid or a snugly fitting roasting tin covered tightly with foil.
Duck legs are usually sold frozen in a double pack weighing about 18–24 oz (500–680 g), and they thaw best in the refrigerator, typically needing 12–24 hours.
Garlic and rosemary: They add a wonderful flavor but are optional—you’ll enjoy these duck legs with or without them. You can also swap them for onion wedges and other herbs, or for a thickly sliced orange.
Water: Boil the water in a kettle and use enough to cover the bottom of the pot – I usually need ¾ to 1 cup. You can also use chicken broth or white wine, but as I usually don’t make a sauce using the pan juices in this case, water is fine. I don’t normally make a sauce with these pan sauces because they are way too fatty; all the fat the duck releases will be in that pot; it just feels like overkill in terms of calories.

Nutrition