Orange Roasted Duck Recipes

CLASSIC FRENCH DUCK A L'ORANGE

Steps:

• Use a needle or sharp knife point to pierce the skin of the fat ducks all over, taking care to not pierce the meat itself; go in at an angle. This helps the fat render out of the bird. Salt the ducks well and preheat the oven to 325°F.
• Put the ducks in an ovenproof pan. I rest them on celery leaves to prop them above the level of the pan; this helps them crisp better. If you want, surround the duck with some root vegetables. Roast for 90 minutes.
• Take the pan out and increase the heat to 425°F. When it hits this temperature, put the birds back in the oven and roast until the skin is crispy, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, boil the vinegar and sugar in a small pot until it turns brown. Pour in the stock little by little, stirring all the while. Set aside.
• Shave the peel off the oranges, grating some fine and keeping the peel of 2 oranges in large pieces. Juice 2 oranges. Cut segments from the other 2 oranges. Here is a tutorial on how to do that.
• When the ducks are ready, remove them from the oven and let them rest on a cutting board.
• Finish the sauce. Bring it to a simmer, then add about 1/2 cup of orange juice and the large bits of peel. Simmer 5 minutes. Whisk together a little of the sauce with the starch, and, when it's mixed well, stir it into the saucepot to thicken. Add the Grand Marnier and enough salt and orange bitters to taste. Swirl in the butter one tablespoon at a time.
• To serve, carve the duck and arrange on plates. Give everyone some orange supremes and pour over the sauce. Garnish with the grated zest, and serve with good bread, mashed potatoes or celery root, or polenta.

ORANGE-ROASTED DUCK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large roasting pan with foil.
• Remove both wingtips at the top joint with kitchen scissors or a heavy knife; reserve wing tips. Reserve neck (discard the rest of the giblets). Trim the excess skin and fat around the neck and cavity opening. Grate 1/4 teaspoon orange zest and set aside. Cut oranges into quarters. Set aside 3 sections and place the remaining orange sections inside the duck; fold the wings under and tie the legs together with kitchen string. With a skewer or fork, prick holes in the skin without piercing the flesh. (This allows fat to drain during roasting.)
• Whisk marmalade and 2 tablespoons soy sauce in a small bowl. Loosen the skin over the breast and thigh meat and rub about 3 tablespoons of the marmalade mixture under the skin. Place breast-side down on a rack in the prepared roasting pan.
• Roast the duck for 1 hour. Remove the duck from the pan and carefully pour off the fat. Return the duck to the rack, breast-side up. Continue roasting, basting every 15 minutes with another 2 tablespoons of the marmalade mixture, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh without touching bone registers 165 degrees F, 1 to 1 1/4 hours more.
• Meanwhile, place the reserved wing tips and neck in a medium saucepan, add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the broth is reduced by half, 5 to 7 minutes. Strain and discard solids; return the broth to the pan. Squeeze the juice from the reserved orange sections into a small bowl; add cornstarch and whisk until smooth. Stir the juice mixture, reserved zest and brown sugar into the broth; cook over medium heat, stirring, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce.
• Transfer the duck to a cutting board; let rest for 15 minutes before removing the string and carving. Serve with the sauce on the side.

ROAST DUCK WITH ORANGE AND GINGER

Steps:

• Rinse duck and pat dry. Remove neck and giblets and save for another purpose. Remove excess fat from cavity and tail area and trim off a bit of flappy neck skin. Prick duck skin all over with tip of sharp paring knife, making sure not to penetrate meat.
• Mix together salt and 5-spice powder. Season interior of duck with 1 tablespoon salt mixture; use remainder to generously season exterior (you may have a little left over). Combine orange zest with grated ginger and garlic, then smear mixture inside cavity. Place orange wedges in cavity. Tie legs together. Secure neck flap with wooden skewer or toothpicks. Place duck on rack in roasting pan breast-side-up and refrigerate overnight, uncovered.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, bring duck to room temperature and make the glaze: Bring orange juice, honey, sugar and soy sauce to a simmer. Add sliced ginger and star anise, then reduce mixture until you have a medium-thick syrup, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Roast duck for 2 hours, carefully pouring off fat and turning duck over every 30 minutes. Paint with glaze and roast another 30 minutes (2 1/2 hours in all). Tent with foil if glaze begins to get too dark. Duck is done when temperature at thickest part of leg reads 165 degrees. Paint duck once more, keep warm and let rest 20 minutes. Use poultry shears to cut into quarters (remove backbone first) or carve in the traditional way, removing legs from carcass and slicing breast. Serve with mashed butternut squash if desired.

SLOW ROASTED DUCK WITH ORANGE-SHERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 500 degrees. In a large bowl, toss onions with melted butter. Season duck inside and out with salt and pepper. Place rosemary sprigs inside duck's cavity and then tightly pack with buttered onion mixture.
• Place duck in medium-size roasting pan, and roast for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees and cover pan loosely with foil. Roast for about 4 1/2 hours, draining fat every hour.
• Remove pan from oven and carefully discard as much fat as possible with a ladle. Add orange juice, sherry and soy sauce. Return pan to oven and roast uncovered for 30 minutes. Transfer duck to a platter and let cool slightly. Pour pan juices (about 4 cups) into a saucepan, discarding any pieces of skin. Skim off fat and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add carrots and reduce to 1 1/2 cups, strain and keep on the side. In same pan, sauté mushrooms with 2 tablespoons butter until brown. Add red peppers and briefly sauté, then add reduced sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm over low heat.
• Remove onions and rosemary from duck's cavity. Remove meat from bones. Place skin from duck breasts onto cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees until skin starts to foam, about 5 to 10 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 200 degrees and place meat in oven to keep warm until serving.
• Cover bottoms of individual plates with sauce and top with either pasta, shoestring fries, hash browns or unsalted potato chips. Place a generous amount of duck meat on top, then garnish with crispy skin, vegetables and chives.

DUCK A L'ORANGE

Steps:

• Roast duck:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 475°F.
• Stir together salt, coriander, cumin, and pepper. Pat duck dry and sprinkle inside and out with spice mixture. Cut 1 half of orange into quarters and put in duck cavity with thyme, marjoram, parsley, and 4 onion wedges.
• Squeeze juice from remaining half of orange and stir together with wine and stock. Set aside.
• Spread remaining 4 onion wedges in roasting pan with carrot and celery, then place duck on top of vegetables and roast 30 minutes.
• Pour wine mixture into roasting pan and reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Continue to roast duck until thermometer inserted into a thigh (close to but not touching bone) registers 170°F, 1 to 1 1/4 hours more. Turn on broiler and broil duck 3 to 4 inches from heat until top is golden brown, about 3 minutes.
• Tilt duck to drain juices from cavity into pan and transfer duck to a cutting board, reserving juices in pan. Let duck stand 15 minutes.
• Make sauce:
• While duck roasts, cook sugar in a dry 1-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, undisturbed, until it begins to melt. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally with a fork, until sugar melts into a deep golden caramel. Add orange juice, vinegar, and salt (use caution; mixture will bubble and steam vigorously) and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until caramel is dissolved. Remove syrup from heat.
• Discard vegetables from roasting pan and pour pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve into a 1-quart glass measure or bowl, then skim off and discard fat. Add enough stock to pan juices to total 1 cup liquid.
• Stir together butter and flour to form a beurre manié. Bring pan juices to a simmer in a 1- to 2-quart heavy saucepan, then add beurre manié, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Add orange syrup and zest and simmer, whisking occasionally, until sauce is thickened slightly and zest is tender, about 5 minutes. Serve with duck.
• Available at D'Artagnan (800-327-8246).

ORANGE ROASTED DUCK (ANATRA ALL'ARANCIA)

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375. With paring knife, make four incisions in skin of duck: one between leg and breast on each side of duck, and one between wing and back on each side. Make a spice mixture with 1 teaspoon rosemary, 2 teaspoons sage, 1 chopped garlic clove, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stuff incisions with pinches of mixture.
• In a medium-size bowl, combine sausages, pancetta, bread, celery in small dice, carrots in small dice, 1/2 cup chopped onion, diced orange, remaining chopped garlic, remaining rosemary and sage, 1 1/2 teaspoons Tuscan spice, a half-teaspoon salt and a half-teaspoon pepper. Drizzle juice of one orange over ingredients, and mix well. Season cavity of duck with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, stuff with mixture, and truss with a toothpick, a skewer or butcher's thread.
• Pour olive oil into a 9-by-13-inch roasting pan. Place duck in pan, breast side up. Rub surface of duck with oil from pan, and roast 40 minutes. Remove pan from oven, transfer duck to a cutting board, and pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat. Add remaining celery, carrots and onion to pan in an even layer, and place duck on vegetables, breast side up. Drizzle juice of one orange and Grand Marnier over duck, season duck with remaining Tuscan spice, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and layer slices of one orange over breast.
• Return to oven, and roast 2 hours, basting with pan juices every 20 minutes. Once orange slices on breast have browned, add them to pan, pour juice of remaining orange over duck, and layer slices of second orange over breast. Raise oven to 400 degrees for final 20 minutes of cooking.
• Remove duck from oven, and transfer to a cutting board. Remove all but 4 orange slices from pan, and discard. Spoon off any excess fat, and discard. Purée contents of pan in a food processor, and heat in a small saucepan over medium-high heat to reduce while you carve duck. Adjust seasonings, and pour sauce over carved duck. Serve.