Succulent, juicy and a great treat – and becoming more and more popular as an alternative to Turkey as a Christmas Dinner.
All you have to do is look at the image above to see how juicy it is!
To serve 4
1 large Duck
The Neck and Giblets
1 Small Onion
1 Celery Stick
1 Carrot
Oil
1 Bay Leaf
1 small glass Red Wine
½ teaspoon Redcurrant Jelly
1.      Heat the oven to 220 C, and if the Duck is tied up, untruss the Duck – cut the string and pull the legs out away from the body gently – this will help the heat get around them easier
2.      Remove the wing tips on them – there’s no meat on them, but keep them to help with the flavour of the Giblet Stock. Chop up the Neck, Heart, Gizzard and Wing tips, plus the Onion, Celery and Carrot roughly. Fry them over a medium-hot heat in a little oil to brown them off, and the vegetables are slightly caramelised. Put these into a saucepan, as well as the Bay Leaf, cover with just over half a litre of water and simmer for around one and three quarters of an hour.
3.      Remove any extra fat from inside the cavity, and prick all over the fatty area of the skin – make sure you prick where the breast joins the legs, and you don’t go too deep, and season with Salt and Pepper.
4.      Place the Duck in a roasting tin, and cook for around twenty minutes, until the fat starts running. Turn the heat down to 180 C and baste the bird, before returning it to the oven.
5.      Baste the bird every twenty minutes or so, and check to see if the juice is clear after around ninety minutes. Tip the Duck to make sure any juices and fat are back in the Roasting Tin, and then transfer the Duck to a warmed plate or carving tray.
6.      For the gravy, pour the juices from the roasting tin, deglaze the tray with the red wine, and then strain the giblet stock into a clean pan. Boil down to reduce into a rich, syrupy gravy, and add some of the redcurrant jelly to make sweeter if you’d like.
Photo Courtesy of: Avlxyz