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Can You Freeze Duck?

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By Lewis Brindley

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4 minutes

Duck is a rich, flavorful meat thatā€™s one of the tastiest options available on the market. Therefore, if youā€™ve got a lot of it in your home, you might be tempted to freeze duck to ensure you can keep it safe for future cooking. But, is this OK to do?

Can You Freeze Duck?

Yes, you can freeze duck for up to 3 months. Double-wrap the duck with a layer of baking paper followed by a layer of cling film. After double wrapping, label it with the correct date and transfer it to the freezer, where it will store very well for around 3 months.

Do Does Duck freeze well? Yes

Can you refreeze Duck? Yes

How to Freeze Duck

The first step to freezing any kind of meat is to ensure itā€™s clean and ready for the freezer. While this might seem unnecessary, it is wise to remove any potential sources of contaminants from meat before it goes into the freezer.

Therefore, trim any sections of the duck that may contain unwanted material. You can then get to freezing it:

  1. Wrap Once: Once the duck is washed and trimmed, we recommend placing each piece onto a piece of baking or butcherā€™s paper. Wrap each piece of duck in the paper, ensuring you arenā€™t wrapping too tightly.
  2. Wrap Again: Once the paper wrapping is complete, wrap each piece of duck in a layer of cling film, making sure that the film reaches around each piece, as well as that it forms a complete seal around the duck, too.
  3. Label and Freeze: When the duck is completely wrapped in the two layers you have created, it is ready for the freezer. Label it with the correct date, and transfer it to the freezer, where it will store for around three months.
Can You Freeze Cooked Duck?

Yes, cooked duck can be frozen for around 2 months in an airtight container. You can freeze any cuts of duck but you’ll need to allow it to cool down fully first. Cooked Duck

3 Tips for Freezing Duck

Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing duck to have the best results:

Avoid Placing Packages Against Ice
Allowing the packages of duck in your freezer to be directly touching ice or frost means that they are much more likely to succumb to freezer burn. The point of contact gets exceptionally cold, allowing freezer burn to spread from that point into the meat itself.Ā Ā 

Add a Marinade
Thawing the duck within a marinade is a great way to reduce cooking time in your kitchen. A piece of meat will have to sit in a marinade for six hours or more. If youā€™ve got duck thawing in your fridge anyway, then it makes perfect sense for the duck to thaw in a marinade, where it will take on more flavours.

Avoid Moisture
Allowing the duck to become moist means that youā€™re essentially allowing frost and ice to form directly upon the surface of the duck. Protein molecules will be torn and broken as ice crystals grow within the duck itself.

How Long Can You Freeze Duck?

You can freeze duck for a maximum of around 3 months. Beyond that point, itā€™s very likely that freezer burn will have started to set in, which will damage the texture and final flavour of any duck that youā€™re storing in your freezer.

How Long Does Duck Last in the Fridge?

If unopened, fresh duck will last for around 2 weeks in the fridge. Once it has been cut up or removed from the packaging, it will only keep for 3 days.

How Do You Defrost Duck?

The best way to defrost duck is to allow it to come to temperature overnight in the fridge.

The reason for this is that meat cannot be left at room temperature for an extended period since that will invite bacterial growth and be very unsafe. To make the food safer, youā€™re best served by keeping the duck at fridge temperature.

Can You Refreeze Duck?

Yes, you can refreeze duck.

The thing that is likely to damage the duck during the freezing process is freezer burn, which occurs after the duck has been in the freezer for a very long time.

Therefore, the process of refreezing duck doesnā€™t do any real damage to the meat itself.

Does Duck Freeze Well?

Yes, duck does freeze well.

During the initial three months in the freezer, duck will not lose much flavor and texture. This means that weā€™re happy to say it freezes very well!

If youā€™ve still got questions about freezing duck or duck in general, then these may help:

Can You Freeze Duck Breast?

Yes, duck breast can be frozen either raw or cooked. Wrap whole breasts in a sheet of baking paper then cling film and pop them into a labelled freezer bag. Duck Breast

Can You Freeze Crispy Duck?

Yes, crispy duck can be frozen and will not lose too much of its texture during the freezing process. It can be frozen for 3 to 4 months.

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