Spiced Duck with Sweet-and-Sour Sauce
A 2.5 kg duck (about 5½ lb) spends the night in the fridge, larded with garlic pounded in a mortar with salt, pepper, and thyme, and rubbed down with cognac. None of that is decorative: overnight the salt works its way deep into the breast, and the alcohol pulls out the essential oils from the garlic and thyme that a dry rub would leave sitting on the surface.
Roasting happens in two stages. The first 15 minutes at 220°C (425°F) start the subcutaneous fat rendering and set the honey glaze; then 190°C (375°F) for about an hour and a half lets the rest of the fat escape without drying the meat. The rack with a sheet pan beneath it matters — a duck sitting in its own fat steams on the underside instead of browning. Every 20 minutes you baste with that collected fat, and the basting is what produces the even, glossy skin.
At the stove
Pat the bird bone-dry inside and out; moisture is the single biggest cause of pale skin. Watch the honey toward the end — it scorches before the meat does, so tent the breast with foil if it darkens fast. The sauce reduces by half, then the wine vinegar goes in a splash at a time: it should balance the honey, not shout over it. Shallots can be swapped for regular onion, though the sauce loses some finesse. Rest the duck under foil for 10 to 15 minutes before carving so the juices settle back into the meat.
Part of French cuisine — 28 more recipes in the section.
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Ingredients
Instructions
Duck
Rinse the duck and pat it dry with a towel inside and out. Crush the garlic in a mortar with salt, pepper, and thyme. Make slits in the carcass for larding, rub it with cognac, and stuff it with the spice mixture.Wrap the duck in plastic wrap and leave it overnight in the refrigerator to marinate.
Preheat the oven to 220 C (425 F). Unwrap the duck, brush it with honey, and roast it on a rack for 15 minutes, placing a baking sheet underneath to catch the dripping fat.
Reduce the oven temperature to 190 C (375 F), baste the duck with the rendered fat, turn it over, and roast for about another 1.5 hours, basting it with fat every 20 minutes so the skin stays browned and glossy.
Transfer the finished duck to a wooden board, cover with foil, and let it rest a bit. Then carve it into portions and arrange on warmed plates.
Sauce
Finely chop the shallots and sweat them in butter until soft. Pour in the white wine and chicken stock and reduce over low heat by about half.Strain the sauce through a sieve, then add the wine vinegar in portions, tasting as you go: the sauce should turn out sweet-and-sour. Season with salt and pepper.
Pour the sauce over the duck or serve it on the side.
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