History

Greater Poland's duck dish gives Modra Kuchnia in Jeżyce its name; modra kapusta is the dialect word for red cabbage, and the duck-and-red-cabbage combination is the Sunday-lunch classic of the Wielkopolska canon. The duck is typically slow-roast for two to three hours and finished with stewed apples. The dish anchors menus at Ratuszova, Modra Kuchnia and the regional bistros around Stary Rynek.

Book a food experience

Tours, tastings and classes from the cities on this page, bookable on GetYourGuide.

★ 4.3 (307)
Warsaw

Guided tour · 3h 30m

Warsaw: Polish Food Tour

The Polish food tour is a great way to experience a must-try cuisine of this amazing country. A professional guide will teach you all there is to...

fromzł 335Check dates

Browse every bookable food experience

Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 3 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 1 whole duck, around 2.2kg
  • 2 tablespoons marjoram
  • 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 2 sour apples, quartered, cores removed
  • 1 onion, halved
  • For the modra kapusta: 1 medium red cabbage shredded, 2 tart apples peeled and grated, 50g butter, 1 onion finely sliced, 4 whole cloves, 2 bay leaves, 100ml red wine, 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, salt and pepper

Method

  1. Pat the duck dry, prick the skin all over with a fork, and rub inside and out with marjoram, caraway, salt and pepper. Refrigerate uncovered for 4 hours or overnight.
  2. Stuff the cavity with apple quarters and the halved onion. Place breast-down on a rack in a roasting tin.
  3. Roast at 160C for 90 minutes. Turn breast-up, increase to 200C, and roast 45 more minutes until the skin is deep crisp.
  4. For the modra kapusta: melt butter in a heavy pot, soften the onion for 8 minutes. Add the cabbage, grated apples, cloves and bay leaves. Pour in the wine, vinegar and 100ml water. Simmer covered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Stir the brown sugar into the cabbage in the last 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the vinegar and salt to a sweet-sour balance.
  6. Rest the duck 15 minutes before carving. Joint into legs, breasts and wings.
  7. Plate each portion with a heap of modra kapusta and either steamed pyzy or boiled potatoes.

Tip from the editors. Reserve the rendered duck fat from the tin; it is gold for cooking the next week's roast potatoes.

Where to eat kaczka z modrą kapustą

Kaczka z modrą kapustą in Poznań

Modra Kuchnia ★ 4.5

$$$$ Tasting 140-240 $Modern Polish

Modra Kuchnia in Jeżyce, Poznań is a small basement room on Mickiewicza, run by Szymon (kitchen) and Dorota (front), with a tight modern Polish menu.

OrderRoast duck with the modra kapusta that gives the room its name.

Book2 weeks ahead

TipBook the table by the open kitchen; you can see the entire pass and Szymon plates every dish himself.

Directions

Ratuszova ★ 3.9

$$ Modern PolishStary Rynek

Ratuszova on Stary Rynek 55 in Poznań is a modern-Polish room in a historic tenement, in business since 1954, with roast duck, czernina and game.

OrderRoast duck with apples and red cabbage.

TipSit in the vaulted cellar room for the proper Stary Rynek atmosphere; the upstairs is brighter but less characterful.

Directions

Brovaria ★ 4.0

$$ Cocktail barUntil Daily 24:00

Brovaria on Stary Rynek 73-74 in Poznań runs the kitchen and brewpub bar until midnight every night, with house pilsner, weizen and dark lager pulled.

TryBrewpub Polish plates

TipThe kitchen closes 20 minutes before the bar; order food by 23:30 even if the room is still open.

Directions

All Poznań signature dishes →

More cities are in research. Want kaczka z modrą kapustą covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

Browse all dishes →