Roasted duck was an Upperline staple from the very beginning but Chef Tom Cowman took it to an apotheosis during his tenure as the restaurant’s second executive chef. Chef tom evolved a long, slow method of cooking and created new sauces—always served on the side so guests could choose their own ways of indulging or not.

Eventually our master prep men, James Chester and Miguel Gabriel, were prepping dozens of ducks for overnight cooking at a very low temperature (200 degrees). They put the ducks in the oven at 11:30 pm and took them out the next day at around noon. They then carved, deboned, and utilized different parts for the gumbo and étouffée appetizers. The half-duck main course became our most celebrated entree, and all of us thrived on the media attention and customer excitement and admiration.  —by JoAnn Clevenger

JoAnn is thrilled to share this recipe for roasted half-duck that has been tailored a bit to accommodate for cooking at home.