Roast Duck with Bitter-Sweet Orange Sauce

What you need

• 1 whole duck, about 2.2 kg (5 lb), giblets removed
• salt, to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• 4 oranges
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) red wine vinegar
• 120 ml (1/2 cup) dry white wine
• 500 ml (2 cups) duck or chicken stock
• 1 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot
• 3 tbsp orange liqueur
• 2 tbsp butter, soft

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Take the duck out of the fridge 30 min before roasting. Heat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F).

2. 2

   Prick the duck skin all over with a thin skewer, angling it so it goes through the fat but not into the meat.

3. 3

   Season the duck well with salt and pepper inside and out, then set it breast up on a rack in a roasting tin.

4. 4

   Roast for 1 hour 30 min, spooning off the melted fat from the tin every 30 min.

5. 5

   Turn the oven up to 220 °C (425 °F) and keep roasting until the skin turns crisp and deep brown, 15-20 min. The thickest part of the thigh should read 74 °C (165 °F).

6. 6

   While the duck roasts, pare the zest from 2 oranges in wide strips, avoiding the white pith, and cut it into very thin shreds.

7. 7

   Blanch the shreds in boiling water for 1 min, drain and repeat twice more with fresh water to take out the bitterness.

8. 8

   Squeeze the juice from those 2 oranges. Cut the peel and pith off the other 2 oranges and cut out the segments between the membranes.

9. 9

   Put the sugar and vinegar in a small saucepan and boil until the mixture turns a light caramel colour, 3-5 min.

10. 10

    Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the stock a little at a time, then simmer until reduced by about a third, 10 min.

11. 11

    Lift the duck onto a board and leave it to rest for 15 min. Pour the fat out of the tin, keeping any browned juices.

12. 12

    Set the tin over medium heat, pour in the wine and scrape up the browned bits as it bubbles for 2 min. Strain this into the sauce.

13. 13

    Add the orange juice and blanched zest to the sauce and simmer for 5 min.

14. 14

    Mix the starch with 2 tbsp of the warm sauce until smooth, stir it back into the pan and simmer until lightly thickened, 1-2 min.

15. 15

    Take the sauce off the heat, stir in the liqueur, then swirl in the butter a spoonful at a time. Taste and add salt if needed.

16. 16

    Carve the duck and serve with the orange segments and the sauce spooned over.

Imported from honest-food.net. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.