Duckling à l' Orange
The recipe involves roasting ducklings with vegetables, wine, and brown stock in an oven for about 2 hours until they become tender. The ducklings are seasoned with salt and pepper, and the skin is crisped towards the end of the cooking time. The sauce is made by reducing the pan drippings, adding orange juice, orange rind, and thickening with cornstarch. The orange sauce is served over the ducklings, and the dish is garnished with orange slices and herbs.
Equipment
- paper towel
- small saucepan
- Large heavy skillet
- Extra-Large Dutch Oven or Pot
- heavy-duty aluminum foil
- Sharp Pointed Knife
- roasting pan
- Saucepan
- Whisk
- Platter
- Few Plates and Utensils
Ingredients
- 2 Ducklings 4 to 5 lb (1.8 to 2.2 kg) each - 2
- 1/3 cup Butter - 80 ml
- 1 large Carrot, Chopped Coarsely - 1 large
- 1 medium Onion, Chopped Coarsely - 1 medium
- 2 large sprigs parsley - 2 large Sprigs
- 2 large sprigs Celery leaves - 2 large sprigs
- small piece Bay Leaf - small piece
- 1 tsp Dried Leaf Savory - 5 ml
- Salt and Pepper
- 2 cups White Wine - 500 ml
- 2 cups Brown Stock (Recipe Follows) - 500 ml
- 2 Oranges - 2
- 2 tbsp Cold Water - 30 ml
- 1 tsp Cornstarch - 5 ml
- 2 Oranges - 2
- Cranberry or Red Currant Jelly
- Parsley or Watercress
Notes
To prepare the ducklings, dry them thoroughly inside and out with paper towels. Heat butter in a small saucepan until it foams up, then skim off and discard the foam. Pour the clear yellow oil into a large heavy skillet and heat it up, discarding any sediment left in the small saucepan. Brown the ducklings well on all sides in this clarified butter, using paper towels to absorb any excess fat.
Preheat the oven to 325 °F (160 °C). In an extra-large Dutch oven or pot with a tight lid, put a carrot, an onion, 2 sprigs of parsley, celery leaves, bay leaf, and savory. If you don't have a Dutch oven large enough, use a large baking dish and cover it tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Sprinkle the ducklings well inside and out with salt and pepper and lay them on top of the vegetables in the pan. Add wine and brown stock, then cover tightly and roast in the oven for about 2 hours or until the birds are just tender. Uncover and roast for an additional 15 minutes to crisp up the skin.
While the ducklings are cooking, squeeze 2 oranges and strain the juice, setting it aside to add to the sauce later. Cut the peel of these 2 oranges into pieces and lay them flat on the table, white side up. Use a sharp pointed knife to cut away all the white membrane and discard it. Cut the orange part of the peel into short, thin slivers and put them in a small saucepan. Cover with boiling water, then simmer until tender for about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside for the sauce.
Once the ducklings are cooked, lift them out of the pan and place them on a hot platter to keep warm. Strain the drippings in the roasting pan, discard the vegetables, and chill the drippings quickly by setting them in ice water. Lift off the fat and discard it, then put the remaining liquid in a saucepan and boil it hard, uncovered, until it's reduced to about 1/4 of the amount.
Stir water and cornstarch together and gradually stir this mixture into the boiling liquid. Turn down the heat, add the orange juice and orange rind, and simmer for 5 minutes. Cut the remaining 2 oranges into thick slices and center each slice with a dab of cranberry or red currant jelly. Use these orange slices to garnish the platter and add a few large sprigs of parsley or watercress. Spoon a little of the orange sauce over each serving of duckling.
Nutrition
Calories: 309kcal
