The German-Brazilian headline dish of the Itajaí Valley in Santa Catarina: a whole duck (marreco) stuffed with a savory bread-and-giblet filling, roasted until the skin browns, and served with braised red cabbage, mashed potato and the pan gravy. It is the centerpiece of Brusque's Fenarreco festival, eaten with sauerkraut, strong sauces and a stein of beer. The pairing of rich roast duck with sweet-sour red cabbage is pure transplanted Germany.
Marreco recheado is the food of the Germans who settled the Itajaí Valley from 1860 onward, founding towns like Brusque, where it survives as 'Ente mit Rotkohl' — duck with red cabbage. In Europe the festive bird was often goose; in Brazil the settlers adapted it to the duck (marreco) they could raise locally, seasoning the filling with herbs from the colony. The dish gave its name to Brusque's Fenarreco, the duck festival created in 1986 as a regional counterpart to Oktoberfest, where thousands of stuffed ducks are served each year.
Crisp-skinned roast duck over a moist, herb-scented bread stuffing that has drunk the rendered fat and juices. Alongside it, red cabbage braised soft with vinegar, sugar and apple — glossy, deep purple, sweet and tart against the richness of the bird. Mashed potato and gravy round it out. It eats like a Central European Sunday roast, which is exactly what it is, set down in subtropical Brazil.
Two things carry the dish. First, the stuffing: a bread base bound with sautéed onion, the duck's own giblets and herbs, packed into the cavity so it absorbs fat and juices and bastes the bird from inside while keeping the breast from drying. Second, the red cabbage: shredded and braised long and slow with an acid (vinegar) and something sweet (sugar, apple), which both softens the tough leaf and fixes its color — the anthocyanin pigment turns vivid red in acid rather than the dull blue-grey it goes when cooked plain. Roasting renders the skin to crisp while the fat keeps the dark meat tender.
Variations
The filling varies house to house — some lean on bread and giblets, others fold in farofa or apple. The bird is true duck in the festival kitchens, though home cooks sometimes substitute chicken or, nodding to the European original, goose. Red cabbage is near-mandatory; mashed potato, sauerkraut and a dark gravy are the usual companions.
On the Palate
Where Marreco Recheado sits in the Brazilian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
6 steps · 1 hour
- 120 min
Clean the duck, reserving the giblets. Rub inside and out with salt, pepper, garlic and herbs and rest.
- 225 min
Make the stuffing: sauté onion, chop and add the giblets and herbs, bind with soaked bread; season well.
Watch outBind the stuffing so it's moist but holds together — packed inside, it bastes the bird and keeps the breast from drying out.
- 315 min
Pack the filling into the cavity and close it; truss the duck so it holds shape.
- 4165 min
Roast in a moderate oven, basting with the rendered fat, until the skin is deep brown and the juices run clear, around 2.5 to 3 hours.
Watch outIt's roasted through when the skin is deep brown and the juices run clear — clear juice, not pink, is the doneness sign.
- 550 min
Meanwhile braise shredded red cabbage slowly with vinegar, sugar and apple until soft and glossy.
Watch outBraise the red cabbage with the vinegar going in early — the acid fixes it vivid red; cooked without it, the leaf turns a dull blue-grey.
- 615 min
Rest the duck, then carve. Serve with the stuffing, red cabbage, mashed potato and pan gravy.
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