Roast Duck with Morello Cherry Sauce

Roasting a duck is no harder than roasting any other bird. In fact, it is easier because one thing a duck does not need is any added fat. Duck is a naturally fatty food, but most of it will come out during cooking, which is great because we will use this excess fat to cook our roast potatoes. (See roast potatoes recipe)

This is a very simple recipe, because we are going to do nothing other than season the bird with salt and pepper, and roast it. This will serve 4.

You will need:

Equipment:

• A roasting tin with a rack if you have one
• A sharp carving knife
• A cutting board
• A metal skewer
• A saucepan

Ingredients:

• 1 5-6 lb duck
• Salt and pepper

For the sauce:

• 6 oz morello cherry jam
• ¼ pint red wine

That’s it, nothing else. First preheat the oven to 425F. Next, place the duck in the roasting tin , season with a generous amount of salt and fresh ground pepper and push the skewer through the duck in several places to allow the fat to run out. A rack in the rosting tin is best so that the bird does not sit in it’s fat during cooking.

Cook for 20 minutes at this heat, then turn the heat down to 350F and cook for a further 3 hours. When it is time to roast the potatoes, pour the duck fat into a bowl.

While the duck is cooking, prepare any other vegetables. I especially like roast or sautéed potatoes using the duck fat with this recipe.

To make the sauce, just combine the jam and wine in a small saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer for about ten minutes.

When the duck is ready, you will find that the legs and thighs are a little overcooked using this methiod, but the way the breast meat tastes is worth the waste. If you want to try and save the leg meat, wrap the legs in two or three layers of aluminum foil to slow the cooking process down a little. This is my personal preference because I do not like duck cooked rare. For me, it is just too fatty and I prefer to overcook the dark meat in this case.

When the duck is cooked, place on a cutting board and let it sit for about ten minutes, uncovered. This allows the skin to keep it’s crispiness and allows the meat to “relax” making for an easy carving job. To serve, cut the duck in half lengthwise, through the bone and then in half again the other way. Serve with roast or sautéed potatoes, green beans or carrots and mange tout, and a Morello cherry sauce.

Bon Apetit!