Duck Curry Recipe

Guyanese duck curry in a green plate with a brown rim. Two spoons with wooden handles are scooping up curry to the right and a piece of dhal puri and a yellow napkin are visible at the top of the frame

Duck Curry Recipe

Guyanese duck curry is a fragrant dish of muscovy duck, that's seared then simmered in a homemade curry paste until the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender. It's rich, hearty, and deeply infused with a blend of aromatic spices and herbs. Enjoy it with dhal puri for a Guyanese comfort meal. This recipe uses and entire duck and is for large gatherings but can be scaled to used 1/2 a duck instead.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Caribbean, Guyanese

Keyword carribean duck recipes, curried duck, curry duck, duck curry, duck curry recipe, duck curry recipes, Guyanese duck curry, guyanese duck curry recipe, how to cook curry duck, how to make curry duck

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 2 40

Servings

Calories 2082kcal

Equipment

Large skillet or wok

Ingredients

8 lbs Duck butchered, skin seared and chopped up
1 cup All-purpose flour use cassava flour to keep it gluten free
3 Lemons juiced
1 tbsp Salt divided
2 Small yellow onions divided
10 Garlic cloves divided
4 Green onions
1 cup Cilantro leaves
3 Wiri wiri peppers or 1/2 habanero
1 cup Yellow curry powder
2 tbsp Garam masala
1 tbsp Achar/Amchar masala (optional)
1 tbsp Geera
¼ cup Avocado oil or similar
3 Curry leaves (optional)
8 cups Boiling Water to boil, add more if needed

Instructions

Prep Duck

To remove the gamey taste of the duck, add the duck to a large bowl then sprinkle with the flour. Mix together to coat the duck in flour and let rest for 10 minutes then rinse thoroughly.
Sprinkle with lemon juice and rest for 5-10 minutes. Rinse thoroughly, pat dry, then season with salt and set aside.

Make a simple green seasoning:

To a food processor add one yellow onion, 5 cloves of garlic, the green onions, the cilantro and the wiri wiri peppers, process until smooth and set aside. You can also reserve the wiri wiri peppers and add them whole while cooking to control the heat of the dish.

Make Duck Curry

In a small bowl combine the curry powder, garam masala, achar/amchar masala, geera and 1 cup of water. Mix together to form a loose paste and then set aside.
Dice the remaining onions and finely chop the remaining 5 cloves of garlic and set aside.
Place a large skillet or wok over high heat. When hot, add the duck you set aside earlier. Sear the duck, stirring often, until all of the liquid cooks down and some of the fat renders from the duck. You will start to see oil in the pan. This takes about 10 minutes.
Continue to cook duck for an additional minute or two then remove from the pan and set aside. Add the green seasoning to the duck and mix well.
Add the oil to the same skillet or wok used to sear the duck. When the oil is hot, add the diced onions and the finely chopped garlic and cook until the onion is translucent and the garlic gets a little brown (about a minute).
Then add in the curry leaves (if using) followed by the curry paste you set aside earlier. Mix together with the hot oil, then reduce the heat to medium low and cook the curry paste or masala. If the masala thickens within a minute, add another cup of boiling water. Continue to cook for 8 to 10 minutes until the masala cooks down and you begin to see bits of oil floating to the top.
Add the seasoned duck to the masala and mix well to combine. Increase the heat to medium and let the duck cook in the masala, stirring often, for about 15 minutes. The duck should continue to render oils from the skin and "fry" or sear in the masala.
After about 15 minutes of searing, add about 8 cups of boiling water and the whole wiri wiri peppers (if you didn't blend them with the green seasoning). Stir to free any stuck on masala from the bottom of the pot. Then cover and cook on medium to medium low heat for 2 hrs or until the duck is tender. Stir the pot every 10-15 minutes to ensure that the food is not sticking to the bottom. If the liquid cooks down before the duck is tender continue to add boiling water, one cup at a time, as often as needed.
Your duck curry is ready when the duck is fall off the bone tender and the curry sauce is thick and clings to the duck.
Serve your duck with dhal puri, roti or dhal and rice.

Notes

If you can't get muscovy duck where you are, I bought some online and it was really good. Check out All From 1 Supplier (not sponsored). Use code "metemgee" to get 10% off your order.
You can season your duck over night with the green seasoning if you prefer. I was following my Aunt's recipe and she doesn't season hers overnight. It was delicious as is.
This recipe is definitely for a large group, but it also freezes really well.

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