Herbed Duck a l'Orange
Ingredients:
- 1 - 5-6 lb Duck
- Oranges
- 4 teaspoons Herbs de Provence (preferably fresh), or 2 teaspoons dry
- 1 ½ salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup duck stock (see below)
- ¼ cup red wine
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 baguette sliced and toasted
1 Day Ahead
Pick a bagful of fresh oranges from the backyard; squeeze for juice.
Wash the Duck and remove giblets, liver and neck (save for later use). Trim fat and remove fat deposits. Score in a crisscross pattern through skin and fat of the Duck but take care not to pierce flesh. Marinate the Duck overnight in the orange juice.
Cooking Day
Harvest the herbs; marjoram, thyme, savory, basil, rosemary, from the herb garden. Finely grind with the salt and pepper using a mortal and pestle.
Remove the Duck from the orange juice marinade and allow to air dry (15 minutes).
Preheat oven to 375.
Rub the inside and outside of the Duck with 3 teaspoons of the ground herbs.
Place the liver back in the cavity and roast the Duck on a rack in a roasting pan, breast side down for 30 minutes.
Turn the Duck over and continue roasting, breast side up, for 1 ½ hours. Meanwhile make a duck stock from the giblets and neck; add vegetable trimmings if desired.
Remove the Duck from the pan and transfer to a platter. Drain pan juices and discard rendered fat. Add wine and stock to the pan and deglaze, add back pan juices. Return the Duck to the pan and gently brush with the honey. Increase oven temperature to 375 and roast the Duck for another 10 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 180.
Transfer the Duck to a platter, remove liver, and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Add half of the remaining herb mixture to the pan juices and reduce slightly while stirring. Mash the liver and spread over half of the toasted baguette slices.
Slice the Duck and serve accompanied with the baguette slices and pan juices.
