I am mad about duck and I get really cheesed off when I order crispy duck and the kitchen produces a soggy-skinned piece of bird, usually under-cooked and drowned in a rather tasteless sauce.
So many chefs fail to understand the basics of crispy duck which most home chefs learnt from their mothers… roast the bird and serve any sauce separate from the duck and don’t pour it over the duck because that is on par with making crispy oven-baked potatoes and then spoiling it by pouring the meat gravy over it!
In fact, all duck lovers should learn in order to make tasty, simple, crispy duck you really need only four things – a good quality duck, a sharp fork, a bit of melted butter and grinding of coarse sea salt.
You then stab the skin of the duck a few times with the fork, rub the duck with butter and salt and shove it into the oven for about 30 minutes at 200ºC, then reduce it to about 180ºC and roast it until it is golden brown and done, but not dry. And that’s it. Simple, but it produces great results.
But for today's recipe we will add a little extra flavor to give it a special sweet and spicy touch.
To serve four portions you need:
Ingredients
1 large duck
1 table spoon of good leaf masala
1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
8 lightly crushed cardamom seeds
6 bay leaves
4 pieces of whole cinnamon sticks
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh coriander leaf
¾ cup honey
120ml dry sherry
1 tot brandy
Salt and pepper
½ cup cooking oil
2 oranges, quartered
Optional: 1 red or green chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
Preparation
Put aside the cinnamon sticks, cardamom
seeds, coriander leaf and the orange pieces.
Mix the curry powder, chilli (if using), turmeric, the juice of half the
chopped oranges (discard the used pieces), sherry, salt and brandy with
the cooking oil.
Rub this mixture all over the duck and spoon whatever is left over into
the inside of the bird.
Place the cardamom seeds, cinnamon sticks, coriander leaf and orange
pieces inside the duck.
Allow to marinate for at least three hours, even overnight, if possible.
When ready to roast, turn oven to
200ºC.
Place the duck into an oven roasting pan and place in the pre-heated
oven for 30 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 180 deg C and cook for a further 30 to 40
minutes or until the bird is crispy outside and done through.
Remove from oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before carving
and serving.
For a little extra sauce you can pour a glass of fresh orange juice into
the roasting pan and scrape all the fatty bits off and stir until it
starts boiling then pour through a sieve and serve separately.
This spicy duck goes well with a salad or green vegetables, roast potatoes or old-fashioned sweet potato, or yellow rice.
