At the end of the day, this is one hedonistic duck. It spends the better part of the day bathing in bay leaves, orange marmalade and white wine for you to enjoy.
Channel Julia Child as you make this sweet and tangy Duck à l’Orange. It’s great for a festive holiday like New Years Day which is when I made it with my Dad in the kitchen. And since then, when cooking duck, I’ve taken inspiration from this recipe in order to integrate fruity flavors and the essential process of slow cooking for intensified flavor.
One major modification worth noting that I made for this dish was to make it kosher. So, instead of using the quintessential ingredient of butter that makes a French duck truly French, I opted for a vegan butter. You can also use margarine to that same end. And, of course, stick with butter if that’s your thing… I’m sure it would taste even richer in flavor!
Recommended wine pairings: Pinot Noir (Burgundy) or Beaujolais; or a Pinot Grigio.
More Dinner Recipes to Come:
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare to salt the duck. To do this, take a fork and puncture the skin slightly all over in order to assist with roasting. After salting the duck, stuff the inside with orange, parsley and garlic.
- Roast the duck for 1-1.5 hours in a cast iron skillet to ensure it becomes crispy. Turn the duck midway or once you have achieved a golden brown roast on the initial side. Once cooked to crispy, set aside and let rest.
- Begin making your orange sauce in a saucepan on medium to high temperature. Heat the orange marmalade and stir repeatedly until it caramelizes. Add in orange juice, orange zest, white wine, chicken broth, vegan butter and sugar or honey for your sauce. Boil until thoroughly reduced.
- Strain the sauce and add in some salt and pepper to taste. Then, begin to baste the sauce all over the cooked duck.
- Garnish the plate with orange slices and orange zest.