Roasted Duck a l’orange

Roasted Duck a l’orange - Easy Meals with Video Recipes by Chef Joel Mielle - RECIPE30

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A classic French dish

Duck a l’orange or as know in French, canard a l’orange is a fancy and classic French dish, that you can make at home. It can also be braised, but this version is roasted.

For a beautiful tender meat, the duck is first covered and almost steamed in an oven for approx. 80 minutes. It’s then uncovered and finished roasting to obtain that beautiful brown crispy skin.

Keep the excess duck fat, that is gold! So nice with roasted potatoes, see my recipe.

Make sure you scrape those dark bits of caramelisation in the bottom of the pan, and mix them well. That’s the flavour to your jus and the sauce will be incredible.

If you want to go more classic, you can also add as an option a little Grand Marnier liqueur to the sauce, and garnish with blanched julienne of orange zest and some orange segments.

When serving, pour the sauce around the duck so you retain that nice crispiness in the skin. Great served with green beans and roasted potatoes cooked in duck fat of course!

Ingredients

1 duck (approx. 50 minutes per kilo or 2.2 pounds)
3 - 4 oranges, approx. 2 cups juiced
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp Honey
Handful fresh Thyme sprigs (or tsp dried)
1 bay leaf
1½ tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
2 cups dry white wine
2 brown onions
2 tbsp all purpose (plain) flour

Steps

Step 1
Once the duck has airdried overnight in the fridge, remove and leave to warm at room temperature for 20 minutes. Trim off the wings and cut of the neck using the heel of a large knife. Using a small knife, score the skin width wise in a V pattern (one breast side at a time) from the top to the bottom. Not too deep, only score the skin and fat. Season the skin with salt and pepper.
Step 2
Season the inside with salt and pepper, then place inside, half diced onion, thyme, orange slices and the unpeeled garlic cloves. Do not stuff, it needs air to cook evenly.
Step 3
Peel the onions and cut into four slices. Place in roasting pan. Ideally use a roasting rack for even cooking, if you don’t have one, rest the duck on the onion. Place the duck over the rack, cover the duck and the pan in foil. Pour in 2 cups white wine and 2 cups of water. Place in oven at 350°F or 180°C for 80 minutes.
Step 4
Remove foil, baste with duck fat juices and continue roasting for 30-60 minutes to obtain a nice brown crispy skin.
Step 5
Once cooked, the internal temperature at the junction of the thigh and upper thigh should be 82° C (180° F). Drain the liquid from pan into a small tall container and scoop out the fat. (Keep the fat for other recipes such as my duck fat roast potatoes) .
Step 6
Leave the duck to rest covered with foil and kitchen towel, for 15 minutes, before carving and serving.
Step 7
Meanwhile, let’s prepare the sauce. In a saucepan over medium heat, add 2 tbsp duck fat and the flour. Mix 2 minutes into a roux. Add the orange juice, honey, balsamic vinegar, bay leaf and all the duck jus (juices) from the roasting pan (No duck fat). Bring to a simmer, mix well and leave to reduce 15 minutes on low heat until it reaches a nice coating consistency.
Step 8
Carve turkey similar to a chicken and serve with the sauce around it. Enjoy Duck a l’orange or canard a l’orange as known in French.

Little Tips

Leave duck uncovered in the fridge overnight for the skin to dry.

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