Roast duck

5 mins

40 mins

A whole roast duck is a thing of beauty…..until you carve into it and realise the thigh meat is beautifully tender and melting, but the breast meat is completely overcooked. For me, I feel you need to find that perfect compromise, so I have created this little recipe to keep as much moisture in the breast meat but still cooking the thigh meat long enough. Bon appétit.

Ingredients Required

Ingredients:

1 (2kg): Duck, skin scored, wishbone removed (*1)

2 pinches: Salt & Pepper

2: Oranges, cut into wedges

60g: Seville orange marmalade

1 tbsp: Water

Cooking Method

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 220°C and pre-heat a large frying pan on a low heat. Place the whole duck in the frying pan on its side, so the leg and thigh are in contact with the pan. Leave to gently caramelise in the pan for 5 minutes. (*2) Turn the duck over onto the other leg/thigh and cook for 5 minutes.

Step 2

Repeat the whole process once more, then place the duck breast side down in the hot pan and place in the preheated oven for 5 minutes. Drain off the fat from the pan (*3), turn the duck onto its back and continue to cook for 10 minutes.

Step 3

While the duck is cooking, place a small frying pan on a medium heat. Cut both oranges in half, then cut 4 wedges from half an orange and place in the dry pan for 1 minute on each side to lightly caramelise. Remove from the pan and put to one side. Squeeze the juice from the remaining oranges into the hot pan and reduce by half. Add the marmalade, take off the heat and stir together.

Step 4

After 10 minutes of cooking, brush the marmalade glaze all over the duck and continue to cook for a final 5 minutes. Remove the frying pan from the oven and leave at room temperature to rest for 20 minutes.

Step 5

Carve the duck in front of your guests with the caramelised oranges wedges to squeeze over.

Chef's Tips

*1 A tip to ensure the thighs cook a little quicker, score the thigh meat from the inside of the carcass. This will allow the heat to penetrate and speed up the cooking process. *2 Here, we are searing the duck in a dry pan as you want to render the fat from the skin to get it as crispy as possible. *3 Save the excess duck fat for the next time you are cooking roast potatoes. It will keep for a long time in a sealed container in the fridge.