Ingredients

• 1 x 2kg - 4.4lb duck
• Half tbsp mixed spice
• 3 brown onions
• 2 or 3 carrots
• 1 whole knob of garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• A few sprigs of fresh thyme (or half tbsp dried thyme)
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup port wine
• 1 cup red wile (Cab Merlot or other)
• 1 cup - You'll need one jar or can of Pitted Morello sour cherries.
• Seasoning

Steps

• Step 1

  Wash duck under cold water inside and out. Pat dry with paper towels.

• Step 2

  Chop off the neck (if available) and cut the wings off at the joint. Place them in a baking dish.

• Step 3

  Using a sharp knife, very lightly score the skin in criss-cross diamond shapes. Do not go too deep, you do not want to cut the breast, only the skin (no dark lines should appear).

• Step 4

  Add mixed spice to a small mixing bowl.

• Step 5

  Add a good pinch of salt and some crushed pepper and mix ingredients well.

• Step 6

  Sprinkle spices over duck and massage well into the cuts, legs and underneath to completely cover the bird.

• Step 7

  Place the duck in roasting dish resting it on the cut wings and neck avoiding it touching the base.

• Step 8

  Place in oven and first bake for 30 min at 350°F – 180°C.

• Step 9

  Peel and roughly chop the onions, leave aside.

• Step 10

  Cut the garlic in half, leave aside.

• Step 11

  Roughly chop the carrots, leave aside.

• Step 12

  After 30 minutes, remove duck from oven and add the garlic, onions, carrots, thyme bay leaves.

• Step 13

  Mix the ingredients well ensuring they are fully coated in the duck fat from the baking dish.

• Step 14

  Return to oven and bake for 90 min at 350°F – 180°C.

• Step 15

  In a dry saucepan, add the sugar. Turn on heat and let it caramelise, mix it by shaking the saucepan but be very careful as it’s very hot. You want a golden to deep brown colour but not too dark.

• Step 16

  Add the port wine (careful as it can ignite, turn off fire to be sure).

• Step 17

  Add the red wine and continue reducing.

• Step 18

  Open the jar of cherries and strain using a sieve.

• Step 19

  Add the cherry juice to the sauce and keep the cherries aside.

• Step 20

  Once duck is cooked, remove from oven, lift the duck out of the roasting dish and rest aside in warm spot.

• Step 21

  Add three cups of water to the roasting dish and loosen any pieces stuck to bottom of dish. Turn on heat to low and leave to simmer on stove approx. 15 minutes. Strain liquid. The liquid will have the fat on top and duck juices on the bottom. Scoop out the fat, refrigerate and keep for future use (such as roasted potatoes).

• Step 22

  Pour the remainder of the duck juices (without the fat) into the simmering sauce and reduce further.

• Step 23

  Add the flour to a mixing bowl along with one tbsp of the duck fat. Mix well and add to the simmering sauce, whisk a little to mix. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if required. Continue reducing slowly until it reaches a nice glossy consistency.

• Step 24

  Add the cherries to the sauce and simmer two more minutes before serving.

• Step 25

  Place the duck on a large dish with garnish and carve at the table with hot cherry sauce on the side.

Little Tips

Duck is one of those meats that reheats well. you can prepare it the day before, simply reheat in oven. If you have time, it's easier to separate the fat from the duck juices by refrigerating overnight once cooled. Always keep duck fat for future use. It's the tastiest fat you can get and can be expensive to buy. It freezes well.