Traditional Duck Lorange Recipes

DUCK A L'ORANGE

Steps:

• Roast duck:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 475°F.
• Stir together salt, coriander, cumin, and pepper. Pat duck dry and sprinkle inside and out with spice mixture. Cut 1 half of orange into quarters and put in duck cavity with thyme, marjoram, parsley, and 4 onion wedges.
• Squeeze juice from remaining half of orange and stir together with wine and stock. Set aside.
• Spread remaining 4 onion wedges in roasting pan with carrot and celery, then place duck on top of vegetables and roast 30 minutes.
• Pour wine mixture into roasting pan and reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Continue to roast duck until thermometer inserted into a thigh (close to but not touching bone) registers 170°F, 1 to 1 1/4 hours more. Turn on broiler and broil duck 3 to 4 inches from heat until top is golden brown, about 3 minutes.
• Tilt duck to drain juices from cavity into pan and transfer duck to a cutting board, reserving juices in pan. Let duck stand 15 minutes.
• Make sauce:
• While duck roasts, cook sugar in a dry 1-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, undisturbed, until it begins to melt. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally with a fork, until sugar melts into a deep golden caramel. Add orange juice, vinegar, and salt (use caution; mixture will bubble and steam vigorously) and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until caramel is dissolved. Remove syrup from heat.
• Discard vegetables from roasting pan and pour pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve into a 1-quart glass measure or bowl, then skim off and discard fat. Add enough stock to pan juices to total 1 cup liquid.
• Stir together butter and flour to form a beurre manié. Bring pan juices to a simmer in a 1- to 2-quart heavy saucepan, then add beurre manié, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Add orange syrup and zest and simmer, whisking occasionally, until sauce is thickened slightly and zest is tender, about 5 minutes. Serve with duck.
• Available at D'Artagnan (800-327-8246).

DUCK A L'ORANGE

Steps:

• For the gastrique sauce: Combine the orange juice, sugar, garlic, orange liqueur, ginger and 2 cups of the vinegar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the mixture reduces by half, about 20 minutes. Remove 1 cup of the reduction and set aside for the candied kumquats.
• Strain the remainder of the reduction left in the saucepan and transfer to a large high-sided saute pan. Cook over high heat until reduced by half again, about 15 minutes. Make small slits in the habanero with a paring knife, add it to the reduction and let cook for 5 minutes more. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the butter and cook until it melts. Add the parsley, chives, peppercorns and thyme and season with salt and pepper.
• For the duck confit: Whisk together the cinnamon, chile powders, cumin, coriander, ginger, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, allspice, cloves, fennel seed, cayenne, chile de arbol and 2 tablespoons of the black pepper in a small bowl and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat, add the bacon and cook until lightly golden brown on both sides and the fat has rendered, about 10 minutes. Remove the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place a baking rack on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Season the duck legs with salt, pepper and some of the spice rub. Store any remaining spice rub in an airtight container for a later use. Place the legs fat-side down in the baking drippings in the nonstick pan. Cook slowly over medium heat until the skin is very crisp, about 10 minutes. Turn them over and cook until the other side is crisp, 10 minutes more. Transfer the prepared baking sheet and keep warm in theoven until ready to serve.
• For the duck breasts: Season the duck breasts on both sides with salt and pepper and place skin-side down in a cast iron pan. Cook slowly over medium heat, draining the rendered fat from the pan a few times, until the skin is very crisp, about 25 minutes. Turn the breasts over and continue cooking to medium and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 140 degrees F. Remove to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
• For the candied kumquats: Bring the reserved 1 cup gastrique to a boil in a small saucepan, reduce the heat to low, add the kumquarts and cook until soft and candied, about 20 minutes.
• For the cranberry relish: Combine the orange juice and honey in a small saute pan, bring to a boil and cook until reduced by a quarter, about 3 minutes. Add the cranberries and cook until they pop and the mixture thickens slightly, about 10 minutes more. Set aside until ready to serve.
• To serve: Spoon some of the gastrique onto 4 large dinner plates. Top with the duck confit and the sliced duck and spoon some of the cranberries and kumquarts on the sides. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.

CLASSIC DUCK A L'ORANGE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a saucepan, boil the sugar and water for several minutes until the syrup caramelizes and turns a golden brown color.
• Add the sherry vinegar, orange juice, shallots, and chicken stock and simmer until the sauce is reduced to a little less than 1 cup.
• Cut the cold butter into small pieces and add to the pan with 1 tablespoon of orange zest.
• Shake the pan back and forth over medium heat until the butter has melted and is incorporated into the sauce.
• Stir in the orange sections.
• The sauce can be cooled and stored until you're ready to prepare the duck breasts, or you can set it aside and proceed with cooking the breasts.
• Pat dry the 2 half breasts with paper towels.
• Slash through the fat on the breast with a sharp knife to create a crisscross pattern. This will help release the fat, which will crisp up the skin while cooking.
• Sprinkle both the meat side and the fat with a little sea salt and pepper.
• Heat a skillet over high heat. Sear the duck breasts quickly on both sides, then cook the duck for 9 to 11 minutes on each side. (The USDA recommends cooking duck to 160 F or 170 F, but if you prefer it pinker, cook to medium-rare, 135 F to 140 F; it is still safe to eat.)
• Remove the breasts from the pan and place on a warm plate. Cover with paper towels and leave them to rest for 5 minutes. This helps to soften the duck after cooking.
• Reheat the sauce.
• Place the duck on a hot plate, either whole or neatly sliced. Spoon the sauce over the duck. Garnish the plate with the remaining orange zest.
• Serve immediately and enjoy.

DUCK A L'ORANGE

Steps:

• Use a sharp knife to score the skin side of the duck breasts in 2 directions, about 20 slashes per direction. Season the breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. Reserve in the refrigerator.
• Cut off 1 end so the orange can stand on the cutting board, and slice off 2 (2-inch) strips of zest. Cut the zest into fine julienne, then blanch the zest for 1 minute in the cup of boiling water. Juice the orange, strain the juice into a saucepan, and boil it until it's reduced to about 1 tablespoon.
• If you're using the kumquats instead, cut the round ends off the kumquats and eat or discard them. Set the kumquats on 1 end and use a sharp paring knife to trim the zest off three of them. Cut all the kumquats in half lengthwise, and working over a strainer set in a non-reactive bowl, remove the pulp with a small spoon. Push the pulp against the strainer to extract the juice. (Don't worry if you end up with only a tablespoon or 2.) Place the kumquat zests on a cutting board and slice them into fine julienne. Bring the 1/2 cup water to a boil over high heat, blanch the zests for 1 minute, then drain them in a strainer.
• If you're using concentrated duck broth, reduce it in a small saucepan to about 2 tablespoons until it's lightly syrupy.
• Heat a saute pan over medium to high heat and saute the duck breasts, skin side down, 8 to 10 minutes for the Pekin duck breasts and 12 to 18 minutes for the mallard. Turn the breasts over, adjust the heat to high, and cook for 1 minute for the Pekin duck and 2 minutes for the mallard.
• Pour the fat out of the pan ¿ if it hasn't burned, save it for omelets ¿ and deglaze the pan with the reduced kumquats or orange juice. Use a whisk to add the glaze. Add the sugar, Grand Marnier, kumquat or orange zest, and vinegar, and simmer the sauce for about 30 seconds to cook off the alcohol. At this point, adjust the thickness of the sauce ¿ its consistency is up to you, but many cooks make their sauces too thick; add 1 or 2 teaspoons water to thin it or simmer the sauce for a moment to reduce and thicken it. Whisk in the cold butter, keeping the pan and whisk moving until all the butter melts. (Don't let it sit without whisking or the butter will separate.) Season, to taste, with the pepper, and if necessary, a few more drops of vinegar.
• Slice the breasts crosswise, arrange the slices on individual heated plates, and spoon the sauce over the breasts. Serve hot, with orange wedges if desired.

DUCK BREAST A L'ORANGE

Steps:

• Place sugar in a medium saucepan and set over medium-high heat. As sugar begins to melt, use a fork to gently stir sugar from edges to center of pan. Continue stirring in this manner until sugar is a deep amber color.
• Remove caramel from heat and carefully stir in vinegar, orange zest and juice, chicken broth, and shallot. Return to medium-high heat and boil, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 2/3 cup, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Score fat of duck breasts with the tip of a knife in a crosshatch pattern to form 1-inch diamonds. Season both sides of breasts with salt and pepper. Place breasts, fat side down, in a medium skillet and place over medium-high heat. Cook undisturbed until skin is crisp and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Flip and continue cooking to desired doneness, about 8 minutes more for medium-rare (125 degrees). Allow meat to rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
• Add orange supremes to sauce and pour over sliced duck just before serving.

ROAST DUCK WITH ORANGE SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Fasten neck skin of duckling to back with skewers. Fold wings across back with tips touching. Place duckling, breast side up, on rack in shallow roasting pan. Pierce skin all over with fork. Loosely tie legs to the tail, if desired, to better hold even shape during cooking. Insert meat thermometer so tip is in thickest part of inside thigh muscle and does not touch bone.
• Roast uncovered about 2 hours 30 minutes or until thermometer reads 180°F and juice is no longer pink when center of thigh is cut. Place tent of aluminum foil loosely over breast during last hour to prevent excessive browning. Place duckling on heated platter. Let stand 15 minutes for easier carving.
• Heat orange peel, orange juice, jelly, lemon juice, mustard and salt to boiling in 1-quart saucepan. Mix water and cornstarch; stir into sauce. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute.
• Stir in orange sections and liqueur. Brush duckling with some of the orange sauce. Serve with remaining sauce.

DUCK à L'ORANGE

Steps:

• Set giblets from duck aside; reserve liver for another use. Trim skin from both openings of the cavity; set aside for rendering. Cut both leg-thigh pieces off duck. Cut wings from breasts. Carve breasts from carcass for 2 boneless breasts. Trim off wing tips and flats; set aside. Cut carcass into quarters. Cover and chill leg, breast, and wing pieces.
• Heat reserved duck skin in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until about 2 tablespoons fat is rendered; discard skin. Add giblets, wing tips and flats, carcass pieces, onion, and thyme sprigs. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Add celery, carrot, peppercorns, and 6 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat, skimming any foam that rises to the surface. Reduce heat to medium; simmer duck stock for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, using a sharp knife, cut all peel and white pith from 1 orange; set peel aside. Working over a medium bowl, cut between membranes to release segments into bowl; set aside. Add orange peel to simmering stock. Juice remaining 2 oranges and set juice aside.
• Strain stock through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl (you should have about 2 cups). Transfer orange peel to a work surface; discard remaining solids in sieve. Slice peel into thin strips (remove white pith for a more refined look, if desired); set aside. DO AHEAD: Stock can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill stock and peel separately.
• Prick duck pieces all over with a sharp knife. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange them in a single layer in a large heavy skillet (use 2 if needed), skin side down, and cook over medium heat, occasionally pouring off fat from skillet into a heatproof bowl, until skin is deep golden brown, 18-20 minutes. (Cover and chill fat; save for cooking potatoes or stir-fried rice.)
• Turn over duck pieces. Cook breasts, skin side up, until an instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally into thickest part of breast registers 125°F for medium-rare, about 2 minutes. Transfer breasts to a large rimmed baking sheet. Continue cooking legs and wings until well browned on both sides and juices run clear when thigh is pierced with a fork, 10-15 minutes longer. Transfer to sheet with breasts. Pour off fat from skillet, leaving browned bits behind.
• Preheat oven to 450°F. Return skillet with browned bits to medium-high heat. Pour in Port and cook, scraping pan with a wooden spoon (the browned bits will add extra flavor to the sauce), until reduced and syrupy, about 2 minutes. Add reserved orange juice and duck stock; boil, stirring occasionally, until sauce is smooth and thickened, about 20 minutes. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and keep warm.
• Place rimmed baking sheet with duck pieces in oven. Bake until duck is just heated through, 5-8 minutes.
• Pour warm sauce onto a deep platter. Scatter orange segments and strips of peel over. Top with duck pieces.