I’m planning on prepping the legs of a number of ducks via confit and was hoping to simply roast the rest (rather than pan searing breasts) but I can’t find a recipe to roast a leg-less duck. Any thoughts?
look up crown of duck roast.
I asked Claude
A duck with no legs would be called a “groundnut”!
This is a classic joke that plays on wordplay. When you say “a duck with no legs” out loud, it sounds like “a duck with no legs” (groundnut), which is a humorous way of describing a duck that can’t move around.
It’s a simple, playful pun that relies on the similar sound of “ground” and the idea of a legless duck being stuck on the ground, essentially becoming a “groundnut” instead of a mobile waterfowl.
okay dennis that’s enough internet for you today.
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OK, what do you call a cow with no legs?
Ground beef
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One of my favorite duck recipes is the roast duck with olives. You could easily roast the duck without the legs on it or remove the breasts and use the bones for the stock. The second recipe is a variation on theme where they are only using the breast. I haven’t made the second one, looks like they go in a bit of a Chinese direction.
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Even so, I’ll uhhh, I’ll have some of what Dennis is having 
.
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This is David Rosengarten’s roast duck recipe, we love it
Heat oven to 250 degrees
Prick the duck breast side up
Put in oven for an hour.
Turn duck over and again use a fork to prick it
Out in oven for another hour
Repeat
Turn oven to 450 degrees. Roast until skin is crisp about 8 minutes but watch carefully, as the difference between crisping and burning is tiny
Use duck fat to make roast potatoes.
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Why do you need a special recipe? If anything it’s simpler since the breasts will all cook evenly. I would use your favorite recipe and stick a thermometer in the breast and pull it at 120 and rest.
I was in a store today and they have whole fresh local duck. Have never made it before. Guess its time I lose my virginity!!
Just confirming 4 hours total at 250??? 2 hours each side? TIA
4 hours, followed by a short time at 450 degrees to crisp the duck.
We always serve with duck fat potatoes and red cabbage to have some acidity to counter the fat.
Please let me know how it went.
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Neither my wife nor i liked the actual duck. It was way too meaty/gamey for is. Maybe it was too real/fresh. I did like the neck. I did let it rest for 15 minutes. Will maybe try it again today. The potatoes i cooked in the duck fat were tasty
Where was the duck from? Was it a wild duck?
Sounds like it was overcooked. I would never cook duck beyond medium-rare.
Bought at a supermarket from a duck farm in PA.
Not with a whole duck. But with a whole duck you need to go crispy Chinese style and super crisp the skin and serve it on a sticky bun with XO sauce.
If I want Peking duck I order from a local restaurant. 
That said, I almost never roast a whole duck. Usually I cook just the duck breasts (rare). And make confit from the legs/thighs.
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Same here, but the OP did say he was cooking a whole duck.
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Well, there’s that challenge common to cooking a lot of birds whole. Overcooked duck tastes gamey/liver-y.