Honey Lacquered Duck à l’Orange by Chef Jacques Reymond

Serves

6

Prep

15 mins

Cooking

120 mins

A classic of French cuisine, reinvented to make the dish lighter by stuffing the duck with fragrant citrus and Asian spices. The honey glaze gives a glossy lacquer that blends nicely with the orange sauce.

Ingredients

1 x Moorabool Valley corn-fed duck

 

Seasoning

  • Zest of 1 lemon, dried at 100°C for 15 minutes
  • Zest of 1 orange, dried at 100°C for 15 minutes
  • 2 spring onions, sliced into batons
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 orange, cut in quarters
  • 1/2 knob of ginger, sliced
  • 2 dried chilis
  • 8 juniper berries
  • 1 teaspoon Szechuan pepper
  • 6 cardamom pods
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 5 star anis
  • 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • Salt and pepper

 

Honey Glaze

  • 5 tablespoons honey
  • 13 juniper berries
  • 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Szechuan pepper
  • 6 cardamom pods
  • 60 ml malt vinegar
  • 2 tablespoon soy sauce

 

Sauce à l’Orange

  • 70 g soft brown sugar
  • 90 ml sherry vinegar
  • 6 white peppercorns crushed
  • 4 cloves
  • 2 shallots sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves sliced
  • Grated zest of 1 orange
  • 80 ml reduced chick stock
  • 1 litre orange juice
  • 40 g butter cubed

Method

Remove the duck from the wrapping and pat dry. Set aside uncovered to allow the skin to dry. Meanwhile, make the seasoning by mixing the spring onion, garlic, and quartered orange together in a bowl, along with the citrus peel, fresh and dry spices. Season with salt and pepper. Stuff inside the cavity of the duck. Set aside. Close the cavity with a skewer.

Meanwhile, make the honey glaze by placing four tablespoons honey, 8 juniper berries, pepper, Szechuan pepper, and cardamom in a medium pot over medium heat and stir until the honey bubbles then caramelises. Quickly deglaze the pot with the vinegar and soy sauce and continue cooking for five minutes, or reduced by two-thirds, to make a thick syrup.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 180°C fan forced. Lightly oil a roasting tray, and place in it the duck. Use a pastry brush to coat the bird in the honey glaze. Roast in the centre of the oven for 65 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving.

While the duck is roasting, make the sauce. Start by caramelising the brown sugar in a medium saucepan over low heat. Once bubbling and dark brown, deglaze with the sherry vinegar. Add the remaining juniper and honey, white peppercorn, cloves, honey, shallots, garlic and orange zest. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until reduced by two-thirds. Add the chicken stock and the orange juice and cook for 5-10 minutes or reduced by a good half. Strain, return to the saucepan, and whisk the butter vigorously to smooth the sauce.

Serve the carved duck with the sauce.

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