Description
Add this seared and crispy skin whole Roasted Orange Duck Recipe to your collection for a delicious main dish! If you've never made roast duck before, stick with me because I am going to show you just how easy it is.
Ingredients
- 2 kg whole duck (4.4lb)
- 3 teaspoons salt for brining
- 1 teaspoon salt for seasoning
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2-3 large fresh oranges
- 1 whole bulb garlic, save 2 for the cavity.
- 3 medium red onions
- 4 sprigs Fresh rosemary sprigs, divided
- 1 tablespoon ground all spice
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 1/2 cups water
Instructions
- Thaw: If frozen, remove the [wprm-ingredient text="2 kg whole duck (4.4lb)" uid="1"] from the freezer to the fridge to thaw 2-3 days in advance of cooking (plus it will overnight to dry brine)
- Dry Brining: Remove the packaging around the duck and remove any giblets inside the cavity (if any) those can be kept for another recipe. Dry it well with kitchen paper and sprinkle [wprm-ingredient text="3 teaspoons salt for brining" uid="2"] all over the duck including inside the cavity. Place it on a rack in the refrigerator overnight up to 2 days. A tray or plate under the rack is suggested to catch any drips overnight.
- Room Temperature Duck: Remove the duck from the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking and start your prep while it reaches room temperature.
- Peheat the oven to 190C (374F).
- Score: Shake the duck off of all the salt and brush it off but don't wash it! The duck will not taste salty and you will be removing the work done overnight to tighten the skin. Use a sharp kitchen knife or stanley knife to make small cuts through the skin but not through to the fat. Make the slight cuts on the breast-side only creating diamond shapes.
- Duck Cavity: In the next step the seasoning is explained and while you spice also stuff the duck cavity with oranges pieces, 2 cloves of peeled garlic and 2 fresh rosemary sprigs. Seal with toothpicks.
- Season and spice: Add the[wprm-ingredient text="1 tablespoon olive oil" uid="4"] rub it into the duck all over it helps the spice stick then add [wprm-ingredient text="1 tablespoon ground all spice, " uid="8"][wprm-ingredient text="1 teaspoon black pepper" uid="3"] and [wprm-ingredient text="1 teaspoon salt for seasoning" uid="19"] and gently rub that in covering the entire duck. Use kitchen twine around the duck to tie the legs and wings to the body while cooking.
- Sear: You need to place a skillet on hight heat (no oil) the duck will render fat the minute it touches the skillet. Place the duck breast-side down first but watch the heat (all stoves are different). You are looking for a deep golden brown color then turn the duck over and sear the other side, once deep golden brown remove the duck from the heat and place on a plate. This step is very quick.
- Prep the roasting pan: Peel the [wprm-ingredient text="3 medium red onions" uid="7"] and quarter them or cube whichever works to elevate the duck slightly. Do the same with the [wprm-ingredient text="2-3 large fresh oranges" uid="5"] (wash the oranges) and cut into quarters or cubes and place these into the roasting pan along with fresh rosemary sprigs, divided (save 2 sprigs for the cavity),[wprm-ingredient text="1 teaspoon fennel seeds" uid="9"] and half to a whole [wprm-ingredient text="1 whole bulb garlic, save 2 for the cavity." uid="6"]
- Roast: Place the duck over the onions, oranges etc. and pour the[wprm-ingredient text="1 1/2 cups water" uid="10"] into the tray and bake for one hour. While the duck cooks reheat glaze in a saucepan over medum heat to glaze in the next step.
- Glaze breast side down: Pull the tray out turn the duck breastside down and glaze, back into the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Glaze breast side up: Turn it back breastside up and glaze the top and continue roasting for 20 minutes (lower rack) so the glaze doesnt burn. if you see spots darkening simply cover lightly with foil.
- Rest: Transfer the roasted duck to a plate to rest for 15-20 minutes and place the roasted oranges, onion and garlic on the plate to serve with the duck.
- Carve: Remove the twine and toothpicks and carve the duck. Serve with sauce/glaze, roasted oranges and onion. Enjoy!
Notes
If you are shocked by the calories in the nutritional section you're not alone, so was I! However, this is an estimate and (I know, still a concerned estimate) but we know that one duck weighing 2kg shared by 4 people does not mean that's the calories consumed because consider that we are not eating all the duck fact, that's rendered which you save for another recipe. Granted I do add a wee bit into the glaze but how much of that glaze do you really have? Just enough to cover your serving, point? Enjoy!
Dry brine: You can dry brine overnight up to 2 days. This duck was dry properly dried, salted (dry brined) and placed on a rack uncovered for 2 days which made the skin easier to score without tearing and much crispier.
Cooking Time: 40 minutes per kg. So this 2kg duck was in the oven for 2 hours. Searing is over and above the oven time and that takes around 10 minutes.
Sauce/Glaze: Pour the drippings from the roasting pan into the glaze (or into a seperate jar and save it for another roast recipe). The sweet glaze and richness of the duck, are a pleasure to enjoy!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: American, Asian, French
Nutrition
- Calories: 2135
- Sugar: 12
- Sodium: 2650
- Fat: 201
- Saturated Fat: 67
- Carbohydrates: 20
- Fiber: 4
- Protein: 60
- Cholesterol: 380