Duck a l’orange

Haute cuisine:

It takes some time and patience to cook duck a l’orange so I recommend serving it for festive occasions, holidays, and guest dinners.

Ingredients (8 servings):

Duck preparation

• 2 5 to 6-pound – ducks (duck is limited in meat so I make one per 4 people)
• 2 tablespoons – salt
• 2 teaspoons – ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon – ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons – black pepper
• 2 – oranges each halved (one for the wedges in the duck and one for the juice over the duck)
• 8 – thyme sprigs, fresh
• 8 – marjoram sprigs, fresh
• 4 – Italian parsley sprigs, fresh
• 2 – onions, cut into eighths
• 2 – carrots, cutting each in half parallel to the long axes and then perpendicular to the long axes (8 total pieces)
• 2 – celery sticks, cutting each in half parallel to the long axes and then perpendicular to the long axes (8 total pieces)
• 1 cup – dry white wine (e.g., chardonnay)
• 1 cup – chicken broth

Duck sauce

• 2/3 cups – sugar
• 2/3 cup – orange juice, freshly squeezed with seeds and pulp removed
• 4 tablespoons – white-wine vinegar
• ½ teaspoon – salt
• chicken broth as needed
• 2 tablespoons – butter at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons – all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons – orange zest, fresh and diced finely (remove from orange with a vegetable peeler)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F with oven rack in the center of the oven. Clean both ducks and pat them dry with a towel.

Ducks after cleaning and drying.

Mix the salt, coriander, cumin and pepper together and rub on the outside and inside (the cavity) of each duck. Halve one orange and cut each half into quarters. Place 4 quarters into each duck cavity (reserve the other orange for the wine and broth below). Add the thyme, marjoram, and parsley into each cavity (divide evenly between the ducks) along with 4 onion wedges per duck. Place the remaining onion wedges into baking dishes (4 in each) spreading them evenly along the bottom of the dish (I used 2 x 9 x 12 inch baking dishes). Add the carrots and celery pieces evenly to each dish also (4 pieces of the carrots and celery to each dish). Place the duck on top of the vegetables in each dish (breast side down) and roast the ducks in both pans together for 30 minutes.

Vegetables on bottom of baking dish

Stuffed duck with spice rub on vegetables.

Mix the juice from one orange (remove any seeds or pulp), wine, and chicken broth and once the ducks have cooked for 30 minutes, pour the mixture evenly over both ducks. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees F and insert meat thermometers into the thigh of each duck (do not allow the thermometers to touch bone).

Thermometer in the duck.

Roast the ducks together until the thermometers read 170 degrees F, about 1 hour.

Ducks in the oven with thermometers.

The ducks should be golden brown (see photo). However, if they are not, place them under the broiler (about 3 inches away), and broil until they become golden brown (not more than 3 minutes).

Duck after roasting.

When the ducks have finished cooking remove the juices by holding each duck perpendicular lengthwise to the baking dish (so it will drain the juices) for about a minute (use a large fork to hold because the ducks will be hot). Place the ducks on a cutting board, discard the vegetables from the baking dish and reserve the juices. Let the duck stand for at least 15 minutes before carving.

You can begin preparing the sauce while the ducks are roasting. Add the sugar to a nonstick saucepan over medium heat and allow the sugar to start melting (do not stir). Continue melting the sugar until it has turned a deep golden brown stirring occasionally with a fork. Add the orange juice, vinegar, and salt (it will be volatile when added to the pan so take precautions) and turn the heat to low stirring periodically until the caramel has dissolved. You can turn off the heat once the caramel has dissolved.

Sauce as the caramel is dissolving.

Take the juices reserved from the ducks and pass them through a fine sieve into a bowl (you may require a funnel next). The fat needs to be removed from the juices. I like to do this with a cup with a spout. Pour the juices into the cup, let the fat separate, and pour the fat off. Do this as many times as necessary on the remaining juice. You will need 2 cups of juices (fat removed). Add chicken broth if needed to make up any difference.

Pour the duck juices into a sauce pan and heat over medium-low heat. In a bowl, stir the butter and flour together, and add it to the duck juices whisking them together to avoid lumps. Heat until the sauce begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Add the orange syrup along with the zest and cook for about 5 minutes until the sauce thickens further.

Duck sauce.

Carve the duck and add the sauce to each serving. Enjoy!

Voila.

J. Botticelli