My grandfather remarried almost a year after his wife passed. Orthello Fout, my mother’s mother was my favorite grandmother. Maybe that is why I was biased against Gladys my new step-grandmother. Maybe because she divided my family. Maybe because I never knew a hypochondriac until then. But I will disparage her no more. She is long gone. But if there was one good thing she left in this life it is this: a Thanksgiving tradition that continues this day in my own family.

I love Thanksgiving. It is my favorite holiday, for many reasons: it’s about God, and gratitude and family. I often think it is the fulfillment of a commandment: remember the sabbath and keep it holy. You DO realize that commandment is about US and not Him. Our assembling before our Heavenly Father is about maintaining family. It was in the days of Moses. It is now. In a way it is reflected by another commandment: honor thy father and mother. We honor our Heavenly Father and it makes it easier to honor our earthly father and mother, then we pass this down to our children. The American tradition known as the Thanksgiving Holiday is the fulfillment of this. It is as much about us and our family as Him.

It is one of our national holidays still uncorrupted by commercialism. It is opportunity for reflection and family. And when you have six children who each have spouses and twenty three grandchildren and five great-grandchikdren, it can be a big event. Couple that with the fact that not only have I been bread-winner in my family but chief cook and bottle-washer.

Thus, for forty-three years I have been largely responsible for Thanksgiving dinner. Daughter-in-law Brandy is taking over that role. I am good. I do great gravy, better turkey and from real pumpkins eleven scratch pumpkin pies. But possibly the best thing I do on Thanksgiving is something I learned from Gladys: Incredible Roast Duck.

What follows is a non-typical recipe for roast duck. I searched the web for years to find something similar. I found nothing. So I offered one to the manufactures of Sno-floss Sauerkraut. They thanked me and may have published it last year. I offer it here. If you make this you will not be disappointed it is a real delight.

Incredible Thanksgiving Stuffed Duck

Ingredients

1 Duckling (thawed if frozen)
2-3 cups sauerkraut
1 cup sour red wine
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 – 1/2 cup sifted flour for gravy
Water as needed

Instructions

Set frozen duck in refrigerator overnight to thaw, or leave fresh duckling in refrigerator over-night.

Meantime, open 2-cans or one large bag of sauerkraut. These must be drained. But try to catch and reserve in a cup or jar, some of the liquid. Preserve this for the next day. Squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the kraut. Place the kraut in a deep bowl and fluff. Pour in up to a glass full of a dark red sour wine. Use whatever brand or type you may like. Or you can do what I do, since as a Christian I do not drink: show up at your local mart and buy something small and cheap. Locally, my local Rite-Aid Pharmacy sells cheap wine in a sealed bottle equalling a single glass full for $1.00. (This is for flavor not for drinking, cheap is fine). Cover the bowl and let the kraut marinate overnight.

Thaw duck and rinse thoroughly. Rub with salt inside and out as you would a turkey. You will need to place the duck breast up on a wire rack that will allow drippings to fall into the pan where they will not touch the duck. Duck generates a lot of fat while roasting. It is this natural oil and fat that makes a duck ‘waterproof’ living on the water all year.

Drain the bulk of the wine out of the kraut but do not squeeze. Reserve some of this liquid (like you did the kraut juice) for later. Put the thawed duck on the rack in the roaster, breast up and open the cavity (where the giblets were) and stuff full with the kraut. As you pack it tight, some of the wine/juice will leach into the bottom of the roaster where the fat will go. That is fine. Use tail, legs and twine if preferred to close cavity or just leave it open. Lightly dust the top of the duck with salt and pepper.

Set oven to 350. Cover roaster with a lid (or with aluminum foil) and place into the oven for at least an hour. Ducks, like turkey are roasted by weight. The bigger they are the longer they roast. After the first hour, check. If using a lid, replace. If using foil, loosen and recover but leave loose at edges.

By this time the smell will be making everyone in the house hungry. Even those who won’t touch wine, or say they hate kraut will ask, “What smells so good?” Use a meat thermometer or, for us old-school cooks, keep checking for doneness. As that time approaches, remove the lid or foil so that the top of the bird can brown. It is fine if some of the exposed kraut darkens or even crisps. Continue to brown duck and check for doneness.

Lift the rack out of the roaster and place on a serving plate. The oil and wine in the bottom of the pan will contain too much fat to use for gravy. So most of this will be poured out and discarded.

Remember fat floats to the top so watch as you pour. Leave at least a cup of liquid (fat-wine drippings) to make gravy. Pour this into a gravy pan and put on a burner on your range. Add enough flour to this fatty dripping and stir to brown flour. To this you will add one cup of cold water, a quarter cup of the reserved kraut juice and a quarter cup of the kraut-wine marinade. Stir as it begins to warm. Add water if it becomes too thick. Stir in more water if necessary to thin to a good gravy (do not use milk in this gravy). This becomes a yummy sauce for mashed potatoes or the duck meat as you prefer. Discard remaining kraut juice and marinade.

Let me tell you how good this is. You will have leftover turkey (sometimes for days). You will have leftover green beans and yams. You’ll even have left over pie. But. You won’t have leftover duck or sauerkraut, or duck gravy. You better eat what you want at this first sitting. There won’t be any left for later.

This is why, if you make this for Thanksgiving, you WILL make it again at Christmas (and maybe without the turkey this time).

Before I close, many people have asked me about my pumpkin pies. They seem to taste better than everyone else’s following the pretty much standard recipe (i.e. The back of a Libby’s Can). And while I peel and cut down whole pumpkins rather than using canned pumpkin: that is not the difference in taste.

Here is my, heretofore secret ingredient: every pie has at least two tablespoons of black strap molasses and one teaspoon of maple syrup mixed into it. Mmmmm! (Not my original idea. Got this out of an 1820 cook book).

May your Thanksgiving Holiday be as blessed as mine. God bless America.