Roasted Duck a l’Orange

Name: Roasted Duck a l’Orange
Total time: 2 min
Cuisine: french
Ingredients: 1 duck (approx. 50 minutes per kilo or 2.2 pounds); 2 oranges, approx. 2 cups juiced; 2 red onions; 2 garlic cloves; 2 tbsp honey; Handful fresh thyme sprigs (or tsp dried); 2 cups dry white wine; 1 bay leaf; 1½ tbsp balsamic vinegar; 1 tsp soy sauce; 2 tbsp all purpose (plain) flour

Total 2m

Ingredients

Servings

Duck
1 duck (approx. 50 minutes per kilo or 2.2 pounds)
2 oranges, approx. 2 cups juiced
2 red onions
2 garlic cloves
42 g honey
Handful fresh thyme sprigs (or tsp dried)
480 ml dry white wine
Sauce
1 bay leaf
1½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp all purpose (plain) flour

Instructions

Before things get messy, prep your ingredients. Chop one orange into large, semi-quartered chunks and another into 2mm slices. Chop one onion into large chunks and 2 others into thick 5mm slices. Cut and smash your garlic cloves.
Once the duck has air-dried overnight in the fridge, remove and leave to warm at room temperature for 20 minutes. Trim off the wings and cut off the neck using the heel of a large knife. Using a small knife, score the skin width wise in a V pattern (one breast side at a time) from the top to the bottom. Not too deep, only score the skin and fat. Season the skin with salt and pepper.
Season the inside with salt and pepper, then place inside, chopped onion, thyme, chopped orange and the smashed garlic cloves. Do not stuff, it needs air to cook evenly. Peel the onions and cut into four slices.
Place in roasting pan. Ideally use a roasting rack for even cooking, if you don’t have one, rest the duck on the onion.
Place the duck over the rack, cover the duck and the pan in foil. Pour in 480 ml white wine.
Place in the oven at 175 °C or 180 °C for 80 minutes.
Remove foil, baste with duck fat juices and continue roasting for 30-60 minutes to obtain a nice brown crispy skin. Once cooked, the internal temperature at the junction of the thigh and upper thigh should be 82° C (180° F).
Drain the liquid from pan into a small tall container and scoop out the fat. (Keep the fat for other recipes such as my duck fat roast potatoes). Leave the duck to rest covered with foil and kitchen towel, for 15 minutes, before carving and serving.
Meanwhile, let’s prepare the sauce.
In a saucepan over medium heat, add 2 tbsp duck fat and the flour. Mix 2 minutes into a roux. Add the orange juice, honey, balsamic vinegar, bay leaf and all the duck jus (juices) from the roasting pan (No duck fat). Bring to a simmer, mix well and leave to reduce 15 minutes on low heat until it reaches a nice coating consistency.
Carve turkey similar to a chicken and serve with the sauce around it. Enjoy Duck a l’orange or canard a l’orange as known in French.