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    Home » Recipes » Mediterranean Soups and Stews

    Homemade Duck Broth

    By Lily・Published: Nov 4, 2020・Updated: Mar 24, 2025・Post may have affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Homemade duck broth is an easy broth recipe made with whole duck, water, salt, onion, and spices. Duck broth is a richer and fattier substitute to chicken broth.

    duck broth

    Homemade chicken broth is known for its flavorful taste, but what if I told you duck broth was even tastier! This recipe is straightforward and easy to make.

    Ingredients

    • Whole Duck: Use a whole duck for this recipe to get a rich-tasting broth.
    • Onion: Use any whole onion like white onion, sweet onion, or brown onion.
    • Cardamom Pods: I highly recommend using whole cardamom pods in the duck broth because it makes such a delicious flavor to the broth. You can omit this ingredient if you don't have any on hand.
    • Bay Leaves: I use dry bay leaves for all of my broth recipes.
    • Salt and pepper to taste: My favorite is coarse sea salt and freshly cracked pepper.

    What's the Difference Between Stock and Broth?

    Stock is cooked at a lower temperature for a longer period of time whereas a broth is cooked over a shorter period of time at a higher temperature. A stock has a deeper and richer flavor than a broth. This recipe is a cross between stock and broth.

    Tips For Making The Best Broth

    • Thaw frozen duck prior to making duck broth. I thaw my frozen duck in the sink using room temperature water. It usually takes about 2 to 3 hours for a 4 lb (2 kg) duck to fully thaw.
    • Make sure the weight of the duck is appropriate for the water amount. The ratio of weight to water for the pressure cooker (or instant pot) is 1 lb (0.5 kg) of duck use 3 cups of water. The ratio of weight to water for the stovetop is 1 lb (0.5 kg) of duck use 4 cups of water. This ratio yields the best tasting broth that's not too rich or too watered down.
    • Adjust the salt. Everyone has a tad bit different preference for salt levels, so adjust the salt as needed for your own personal preference.
    • Strain the broth. Once the duck is finished cooking, strain the liquid from the solids.
    • Use the duck meat. I roast the duck in the oven with a little bit of tomato paste, lime juice, salt, and pepper. If the duck is falling off the bone, this is perfectly normal.

    How To Use Duck Broth

    Duck broth is my broth of choice for mahshi crumb and taro root stew (Egyptian kolkas). Duck broth can also be used for homemade ramen.

    Recipe

    📋 Recipe

    duck broth

    Homemade Duck Broth

    Author: Lily
    Course: Soup
    Cuisine: Mediterranean
    Prep: 10 minutes mins
    Cook: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
    Total: 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Rate Email
    Servings 6
    This homemade duck broth recipe is made with whole duck, water, spices, and salt. Duck broth is a richer and fattier substitute to chicken broth, and it's so easy to make!

    Ingredients
     
    US Customary - Metric

    • 4 lbs whole duck
    • 12 cups water
    • 1 large onion halved
    • 8 cardamom pods
    • 2 bay leaves
    • salt and pepper to taste

    Instructions

    Instant Pot Method

    • You need a large pot that can handle a 4 lb (2 kg) duck. Add the water, cardamom pods, onion, salt, pepper, bay leaves to the pot.
    • Rinse the whole duck in your sink. Make sure to disinfect your sink after.
    • Put the whole duck in the pot. Bring the duck to a simmer, cover the pot, and turn the stove to medium low. Cook for about 1.5 to 2 hours until the duck meat is falling off the bones. For pressure cooker instructions, see note 1.
    • Strain the liquid from the duck and other ingredients.

    Equipment

    Large Pot
    strainer
    mercer cutting knife.
    Chef's Knife
    acacia wood cutting board.
    Cutting Board

    Notes

    1. If cooking the duck with the Instant Pot for 45 minutes, the duck meat will be falling off the bone quite literally. If using the duck for another recipe after, just keep in mind it won't stay all together. I prefer to cook the duck for 45 minutes because the stock is much richer.
    2. If there's no room in the cooking pot, you can quarter the duck. 
    3. For every 1 lb (0.5kg) increase of weight of duck using a pressure cooker, add 3 cups of water.
    4. For every 1 lb (0.5kg) increase of weight of duck using a stovetop pot, add 4 cups of water.
    5. If using anything over a 6 lb (3 kg) duck, I recommend adjusting the seasoning ratio as well.
    6. Storage: Store duck broth in the freezer by allowing it to cool and then pouring it into freezer-friendly storage bags. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 2 cups | Calories: 205 kcal | Carbohydrates: 2 g | Protein: 18 g | Fat: 6 g | Saturated Fat: 2 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4 g | Trans Fat: 0 g | Cholesterol: 0 mg | Sodium: 388 mg | Fiber: 0 g | Sugar: 0 g

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    About Lily

    Howdy! My name is Lilian, but my friends call me Lily. I'm the founder and one of the recipe authors here at The Matbakh. I enjoy sunsets, long walks to the fridge, meaningful relationships, and anything related to food. I'm so happy you are here!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      5 from 2 votes

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Susan

      April 02, 2022 at 10:51 am

      5 stars
      This recipe is fabulous and I’m so glad that I came across it when I was looking for easy duck stock recipes. I also needed the fall-off-the-bone meat for the same purpose as the stock.
      I had to slightly reduce the water amount to fit everything in my 8 quart pressure cooker, but it still yielded 3 quarts of perfect stock and cooked duck.

      Reply
      • Lily

        April 02, 2022 at 10:57 am

        Hi Susan, thank you for the comment! So glad it worked well for you.

        Reply
    2. Marwa

      July 12, 2021 at 8:08 am

      5 stars
      My duck **just fit inside the largest Instant Pot. It made the most flavorful and rich broth. I put it in the glad freezer bags to store in the freezer for future use for mahshi.

      Reply
      • Lily

        July 12, 2021 at 8:11 am

        That's a really great comment. I don't think the large Instant Pot (8 quart) can fit a duck larger than 5 lbs. I wouldn't try making this in a smaller Instant Pot.

        Reply

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    lily at the matbakh

    I'm Lily

    I'm an American Lebanese living in Texas. My kitchen, or matbakh, is a hodgepodge of recipes from the U.S. and Mediterranean region.

    ABOUT ME

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