roasted whole duck with stuffing, duck fat potatoes & orange sauce

6

Serves

-

Prep Time

-

Cook Time

This is a stunning meal, especially if carved at the table.

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Ingredients

For the duck

  • 1 whole duck — giblets removed
  • Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
  • 800g potatoes — unpeeled

For the apricot stuffing

  • 50g butter
  • 1 onion — finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic — crushed
  • 8 dried apricots — roughly chopped
  • ⅓ cup pistachios — roughly chopped
  • ¾ teaspoon mixed dried herbs
  • 1¼ cup fresh breadcrumbs
  • 1 egg — lightly beaten
  • 1 teaspoon chicken stock powder mixed with ¼ cup water

For the orange sauce

  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup red wine vinegar
  • 3 star anise
  • ½ cinnamon stick
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 3 strips orange zest — peeled with a vegetable peeler
  • Juice of 1 orange
  • 1 tablespoon cornflour (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon water (optional)

Method

For the roasted whole duck with stuffing, duck fat potatoes & orange sauce

  • To make the Apricot Stuffing, melt the butter in a medium saucepan, add the onion and sauté gently until translucent. Add the garlic, apricots, pistachios and mixed herbs and cook for 1 minute.
  • Mix in the breadcrumbs, egg and as much of the stock as you need to make a nice moist stuffing.
  • Preheat the oven to 150°C (130°C fan bake).
  • Wash the duck inside and out and dry with paper towels. Fill the cavity with stuffing and tie the legs together. Season with salt and pepper. Place in a roasting dish and roast for 1 hour.
  • Cut the potatoes into even pieces. Arrange around the duck, baste with duck fat from the dish and season with salt and pepper. Roast for another 2 hours.
  • Remove from the oven, cover with foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
  • To make the Orange Sauce, combine the sugar, vinegar, star anise and cinnamon stick in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 5 minutes until syrupy.
  • Add the stock, orange zest and orange juice and simmer for another 5 minutes. Strain out the star anise, cinnnamon stick and orange zest. If you want the sauce a bit thicker, mix the cornflour and water to make a slurry. Add it to the sauce and simmer until thickened.
  • Carve the duck and serve with Apricot Stuffing, Orange Sauce and roasted potatoes.