Festive Christmas Roast Duck with Apple Cider Drizzle
Total Time
1 hour and 45 minutes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour and 30 minutes
Rating
4.75 out of 5 stars
(12)
Ingredients
10 servings
- 1 whole duck (around 2 - 2.5 kg) (if frozen, it must be thawed) (Note 1)
- 1 onion (brown, yellow or white), unpeeled and quartered)
- 1 cup water
- 1 whole head of garlic (, cut in half horizontally)
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 tsp All Spice powder
- 1 tbsp salt
- 10 grinds black pepper
- 1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter (, softened (Note 2)
- 1 cup chicken broth/stock (or duck broth, which is better but more expensive and harder to find)
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (Note 3)
- 1/2 cup apple juice
- Salt and pepper
- Few handfuls of rocket / arugula leaves
- 1 pomegranate (, halved)
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Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 210C/410C.
Step 2
Place the onion, garlic and water in a baking dish, then place a rack on top.
Step 3
Rinse the duck under water, including inside the cavity. Use paper towels to pat dry. Or, if you have the foresight, rinse it the night before and leave it in the fridge overnight, uncovered, to dry out.
Step 4
Place the Spice Rub in a small bowl and mix to combine.
Step 5
Slather the Spice Rub all over the skin of the duck (not inside). Use most of it on the top and sides.
Step 6
Place duck on the rack and put in the oven. Roast for 20 minutes, then turn down the oven to 180C/350F. The total roasting time (including the initial 20 minutes) should be 40 minutes per 1 kg / 20 minutes per 1 lb of duck.
Step 7
To check if it is done, insert a skewer into the part where the leg meets the breast. If the juice runs clear, it is ready.
Step 8
Remove duck from the oven. Remove duck from the baking tray, loosely cover with foil and let it rest for 20 minutes.
Step 9
Place on a bed of rocket/arugula lettuce. Scatter with pomegranate seeds (Note 4) and serve with the Apple Cider Drizzle on the side.
Step 10
Apple Cider Drizzle
Step 11
Pour all the fat, juice, onion and garlic in the baking tray through a sieve placed over a bowl. Use a spoon or potato masher to mush the onion and garlic so you can extract maximum flavour.
Step 12
If there is an excessive amount of fat floating on top of the juices, try to spoon it off (save it for roasting potatoes or vegetables, that stuff is gold!).
Step 13
Pour 1/4 cup of the juices into a small saucepan. Add apple cider vinegar, apple juice, chicken broth and place over medium heat. Bring to simmer and let it simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until it reduces by about 1/4, then remove from the stove.
Step 14
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Also, adjust tartness and sweetness to your taste with more apple cider vinegar or white sugar.
Step 15
Serve on the side of the duck.
Step 16
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