Name: Roasted marmalade duck with sherry vinegar
Cook time: 210 min
Total time: 210 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Duck; 2 ducks, depending on how many people you are serving; Sauce; 200 millilitre sherry vinegar; 150 gram brown sugar; 200 millilitre orange juice; 1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard; 2 tablespoon orange liqueur such as grand marnier or cointreau (if you don’t have either of these, a slosh of brandy or port will suffice); 2 tablespoon chunky orange marmalade; 2 whole oranges, halved

Ingredients

Duck

2 ducks, depending on how many people you are serving

Sauce

200 millilitre sherry vinegar

150 gram brown sugar

200 millilitre orange juice

1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard

2 tablespoon orange liqueur such as grand marnier or cointreau (if you don’t have either of these, a slosh of brandy or port will suffice)

2 tablespoon chunky orange marmalade

2 whole oranges, halved

Method

1.Preheat the oven to 160°C. Put the sherry vinegar and brown sugar in a small saucepan and heat gently, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, then add the orange juice, mustard, orange liqueur and marmalade. Simmer for another 5 minutes, then set aside.

2.While the sauce is simmering, prepare the ducks. Remove head and feet, if necessary, and cut out the neck – rather than chopping it, and having an unsightly bone protruding, get the shears or knife right into the carcass and cut it out at its base. Trim excess fat from inside the cavity around the parson’s nose and rinse the bird inside and out with cold water. Pat dry with kitchen paper, sprinkle with salt, then stuff the cavity of each bird with 2 orange halves.

3.Tie the legs together neatly across the cavity with kitchen string and, if you want to, truss the wings to hold them neatly against the sides of the bird. Prick the birds gently all over with a skewer, taking care to pierce the skin but not the flesh. This allows the fat to seep out while cooking.

4.Pour half the sauce into a bowl and brush the birds all over with the sauce. Set this portion of sauce aside for further glazing so you don’t ‘double dip’ and contaminate the sauce remaining in the pan with the brush that has been used on the raw birds.

5.Place a rack inside a roasting pan and put the birds breast side down on the racks. Roast for 1½ hours, basting the ducks from time to time with more sauce, then flip the birds, baste again and cook for a further 1½ hours. Increase the heat to 180°C for the final 15–20 minutes or until the skin is dark and succulent.

6.Rest birds under foil before breaking them into serving portions. Warm the unused half of the sauce in the pan and serve drizzled over the meat.

Some recipes recommend brining duck overnight to keep it moist. I have tried brining and not brining, short cooking and slow cooking and my conclusion is that brining makes little difference. But I do prefer slow cooking the duck at a low temperature, breast side down for the first stage so the breasts stay moist and juicy, then turning them over to complete the cooking. Ducks can also be roasted at 180°C for about 1½ hours, and they barbecue well. The fat from roast duck can be reserved, rendered and used for other cooking purposes such as making phenomenally delicious roast spuds.
Note

Woman's Weekly Food

From classic Kiwi favourites, quick weeknight dinners and elevated meals for special occasions, our recipes are local and delicious and thoroughly tested so you know you can trust them to work. Discover tips and tricks to enhance your cooking skills, learn about seasonal ingredients, and stay up-to-date with the latest food trends. We're more than just recipes; we're your trusted kitchen companion.

Ingredients

Method

Related stories

Subscribe and save up to 38%