Cranberry Orange Duck Food

CRANBERRY-ORANGE ROAST DUCKLINGS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Pierce duckling skin all over with a fork. Place 4 orange quarters, 1 sprig of rosemary and 1/4 cup cranberries in each duckling cavity; tie drumsticks together. Place on a rack in a roasting pan, breast side up., In a bowl, mix orange juice, broth, soy sauce, sugar, garlic and ginger. Refrigerate 1/2 cup for glaze. Pour 1 cup over ducklings; sprinkle with remaining cranberries. Cover and bake 1 hour. Uncover and bake 1-1/2 hours longer, basting frequently with remaining orange juice mixture. (Drain fat from pan as it accumulates.), Mix marmalade and reserved orange juice mixture; spread over ducklings. Bake, uncovered, until a thermometer inserted in thigh reads 180°, 30-40 minutes. Discard oranges, rosemary and cranberries from cavities. Let ducklings stand 10 minutes before carving.

ROAST DUCK WITH CRANBERRY GLAZE

Steps:

• Rinse the cranberries carefully under running water, and pick them over to remove any that have spoiled.
• Mix one cup of cranberries, the honey, and one-half cup of water in a small saucepan and cook, simmering, until the cranberries are very soft. Strain through a sieve into a small bowl. The honey liquid is the glaze for the duck.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F Remove the gizzard, heart, and liver from the duck and set aside. Put the orange peel, half the onion, and about half a teaspoon of salt and pepper in the cavity. Paint the duck with a little of the cranberry glaze.
• Place the duck on a rack in a roasting pan and roast for 45 minutes. Every 15 minutes, paint the surface with a little of the cranberry glaze. Remove the duck from the oven and prick the skin all over with a fork to release the fat. Return to the oven and continue roasting, painting every 15 minutes with the glaze, for a total of two hours.
• While the duck is roasting, make a broth with the innards: roughly chop the remaining half onion and the duck innards. Place in a small saucepan with the wine, another half teaspoon of salt and pepper, and a cup of water. Simmer gently for an hour or more, until the broth is reduced to approximately one-half cup of flavorful liquid. Strain the broth and discard the solids.
• Mix the remaining half cup of cranberries with the remaining half cup of water, the sugar, and the balsamic vinegar. Cook together for 10 minutes until the mixture is syrupy. Set aside.
• When the duck has finished roasting, remove it from the oven and set aside. It should be a beautiful dark-red color.
• Strain the pan juices into a glass measuring cup and carefully remove the duck fat that floats to the top. (Do not discard: duck fat is wonderful for roasting or frying potatoes.) Add the innard broth the roasting juices and use this to deglaze the roasting pan, scraping up the roasting bits that have stuck to the pan. Strain the whole through a fine sieve and place in a small saucepan.
• Add the cranberry-vinegar syrup to the pan juices and broth. If there is any glaze remaining, add that to the mixture and bring the whole to a simmer just to warm it and mix everything together.
• Carve the duck if you wish, or send it whole to the table, together with the warm cranberry sauce.

ROAST WILD DUCK WITH CRANBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Rinse duck under cold water and pat dry. Remove any large lumps of fat from skin. Rub inside cavity and skin of duck with lemon. Season cavity and skin with salt and pepper. Truss bird, place on rack and set in shallow roasting pan. Roast at 350°F for 30 minutes.
• Pierce skin all over with fork to release fat. Continue roasting until duck is completely cooked, around 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
• Once every hour, remove all but 1 cup of fat from pan (some remaining fat will keep pan from scorching). Increase oven temperature to 500°F for the last 15 minutes of roasting to crisp skin. Remove duck from oven and set on warm plate. Pour off and discard fat.
• Place roasting pan on top of stove. Add port and heat over low heat, scrapping up any browned bits. Add butter and heat until melted. Add flour, stirring until smooth. Add chicken broth and whisk constantly until smooth and thickened, around 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in orange juice and 2 tablespoons brown sugar and mix well. Add cranberries and cook over high heat until cranberries pop, around 2 to 3 minutes. Add cayenne and more salt and pepper to taste. If mixture is too tart, add more brown sugar.
• To serve, using poultry shears cut duck in half lengthwise. Place on two serving dishes. Pour half of sauce over each serving. Serve immediately.