Roast duck with orange sauce makes for a marvelous celebratory meal or Sunday supper. Apart from the duck’s delicious gamey taste bathed in a subtle orange sauce, it’s a cinch to cook. Today’s recipe is uncomplicated, the meat is cooked with a little seasoning and the boozy ingredient in the orange sauce gives the meal an interesting zing. The sauce is not the star in this dish though, the duck is, just add one-two tablespoons of orange sauce to each serving, the sauce should be barely there.
A cautionary note, duck isn’t cheap, but for a special occasion it’s truly worth the extra expense, and your guests will love it. I usually buy Long Island ducklings which vary in weight from approximately three pounds to five pounds. A three pound duckling will serve two, and a five pound duckling will only serve three of my friends, but if your friends have regular appetites, you may be able to serve four. To be on the safe side, I would buy two five pound ducklings to serve no more than six people and enjoy what your guests don’t eat the next day in a salad or taco perhaps.
Baked yams are great with roast duck with orange sauce, the orange flavors complement the sweetness of the yams really well.
Serving duck can be a little disconcerting. After roasting, I like to cut each duckling in half, lengthways through the middle of the breast, and then cut the two halves into four or five segments, dependent upon the size of your duck.
So give this roast duck and orange sauce recipe a try soon, I’m sure you and whomever you share it with will love it.
Roast Duck with Orange Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 5 lb Long Island ducklings
- 2 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 orange cut in quarters or slices to serve
Orange Sauce
- 1 tbsp butter
- Duck neck
- wing tips
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp maple syrup or honey
- Juice from 2 oranges
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp cointreau
- 1/4 tsp corn starch
Equipment and Utensils
- 4 Small wooden skewers to secure wings
- Roasting tin with wire rack
- Small saucepan
Instructions
- Remove giblets and neck from duck cavities, discard giblets and set duck necks aside.
- Remove wing tips and set aside with duck necks.
- Remove excess fat and skin from each duck and then wash inside and out.
- Dry each duck inside and out with paper towels. Try to remove as much moisture as you can, the drier they are the crispier the skin will be once cooked.
- Prick duck skins thoroughly all over with a sharp fork or pairing knife, try not to run through to the meat.
- Season ducklings with salt and pepper.
- Secure wings to body of duck with wooden skewers, wet the skewers little first.
- Place ducks, breasts down, on the wire rack in the roasting tin and place in oven at 400
- Turn ducks after 45 mins so that the breasts are facing up, allowing fluids to drain into pan, and continue to cook until golden brown.
Orange Sauce
- While ducks are cooking heat butter in pan.
- Once butter has melted, cut neck bones in half and add to pan with wing tips, then add stock and stir.
- Lower heat to a simmer and allow liquid to reduce by half for approx. 15-20 mins
- Add maple syrup, orange juice, apple cider and cointreau, stir and allow to simmer again for 5-10mins until sauce is reduced just a little.
- Add corn starch to thicken and stir vigorously.
Serving Suggestion
- Serve duck cut in segments, as suggested in post above, with two tablespoons of orange sauce and orange slices or wedges as desired.
