Duck Delight
Gosforth Q Guild butcher George Payne reckons roast duck is a delicious alternative for festive season tables – or any time of the year. He’s sourcing them again this Christmas direct from local supplier Northumberland Free Range Poultry
Author: George Payne
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 2 ducklings, about 1.5 kg each, with giblets reserved for stock
- 2 fresh rosemary sprigs
- 1 medium onion, peeled and halved
- 1 orange, quartered
- 30g butter
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- For the sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 600mls giblet stock
- 1 large orange, washed
- ¾cup red wine
- strained juice of 2 oranges
- 2 tbsp redcurrant jelly
- fresh rosemary sprigs, to garnish
Method
- Preheat the oven to 220C/Gas8. Put a rosemary sprig and one onion half and one orange quarter inside each duck and tie the legs together.
- Prick the skin, put the ducks on a rack in a roasting pan and squeeze over the juice from the other orange quarters. Dot the birds with the butter and season with the salt and pepper. Roast in the centre of the oven for 15 mins. Reduce the oven temperature to 180C/Gas4
- and continue to cook for a further hour. Baste twice during the cooking time and cover with foil if the skin begins to brown too much.
- About 20 mins before the end of the cooking time, start to make the sauce. Heat the oil in a saucepan and cook the onion and carrot gently until the onion is light golden brown.
- Stir in the flour and cook for 1 min, then blend in the strained giblet stock and season to taste. Bring to the boil, stirring, then boil gently until the sauce is reduced by a third. Remove from the heat, strain into a clean saucepan and set aside.
- Thinly peel the rind from the orange and cut it into fine shreds with a sharp knife. Remove and discard the pith. Holding the orange over a bowl to catch the juice, cut out each segment by slicing down between the segment and the membrane on either side. Squeeze the juice from the remaining tissue and set the segments and juice aside. Put the shredded peel into a saucepan with barely enough water to cover and boil for 2 mins. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Transfer duck to a heated plate, cover with foil and keep warm. Skim all the fat from the juices in the roasting pan. Heat and pour in the wine and bring to the boil. Strain through a sieve into the sauce. Stir in the strained orange juice, half the blanched orange rind and the redcurrant jelly. Simmer for 5 mins, then stir in the orange segments with their juice and heat for 1 min.
- Season to taste.
- Spoon a little of the sauce over the ducks as a glaze and pour the remainder into a sauceboat to serve at the table. Cut off the duck legs and carve the breast meat. Garnish with the remaining orange rind and rosemary sprigs and serve with the sauce, mashed potatoes, green peas and mint jelly.
