duck with orange sauce
SERVES: 4
4 1/2 pound duck
2 oranges
1/2 cup superfine sugar
6 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 cup Grand Marnier liqueur
salt and pepper
extra orange slices to garnish
Preheat your oven to 300F.
Wipe your duck all over with sturdy paper towel.
Prick the skin all over with a fork and then tie the legs with kitchen string.
You'll need a large roasting pan with a rack inside it.
Place your bird on the rack and season well with the salt and pepper. Cover the pan and bird with foil and seal well.
Roast the bird for 1 1/2 hours.
Meanwhile, start on your sauce. Using a vegetable peeler or a small knife, cut wide strips of skin from the oranges. You don't want any pith, just skin.
Cut the skin into thin (julienne) strips. Set aside. Juice the oranges.
Take a small, heavy based saucepan and pour in the sugar and vinegar. Set over a medium heat until the sugar in dissolved. Stir all the time.
Bring the liquid to the boil. Don't stir it. Just watch it carefully. As soon as it turns a lovely caramel color take it off the heat.
CAREFULLY pour in the orange juice - it may spit and splutter so stand back. You may find it easier to pour the juice down the side of the pan.
Bring it back to the boil. Add the rind and the liqueur and simmer gently for a couple of minutes. Take off the heat but keep warm until needed.
Pour off the fat that has collected in the bottom of the roasting pan. Increase the heat in the oven to 400F.
Continue roasting the duck without the cover for another 30 minutes. During this time, take the duck out every 10 minutes and baste it with the orange sauce.
The duck should become a lovely golden color.
Run a skewer into the thigh and check that the juices are clear. Once it is cooked you can put into a covered plate to rest.
Pour any pan juices back into the orange sauce saucepan and simmer.
Pour a little on each serving of the duck.
