Recipes: Delicious Duck
Roast Duck Crown with a Cherry and Red Wine Sauce and Dauphinoise Potatoes (see above)
Gressingham Duck is delicious in a variety of recipes including this tasty roast duck crown with a cherry and red wine sauce.Ingredients
1 Gressingham Duck crown
Salt and pepper – season to taste
For the sauce:
12 pitted cherries
50g caster sugar
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
400ml chicken stock
175ml glass of red wine
Teaspoon cherry or redcurrant jam (optional)
For the dauphinoise potatoes:
3 large floury potatoes (approx. 850g) - peeled and thinly sliced
300ml double cream
2 garlic cloves
2 sprigs thyme
Knob butter
Salt and pepper
Serves 2
5 minutes preparation
1 hour & 15 minutes cooking
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°c.
Firstly prepare the potatoes. Mix the cream, garlic and thyme together in a bowl and season with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a pinch of pepper.
Butter an oven proof dish and layer half the potatoes. Lightly season and then pour over half the cream mix. Layer the remaining potatoes on top, lightly season again and pour over the remaining cream mix.
Cover the dish with foil and place in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for a further 30 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Once the potatoes have been placed in the oven it's time to prepare the duck.
Pat the duck crown dry with absorbent paper and season inside and outside.
Place the duck crown on a rack in a roasting tin and roast for 45 minutes or until the skin is crisp and golden. Remove from the oven and set aside to rest for at least 10 minutes.
While the duck and potatoes are cooking you can prepare the sauce (this can also be done in advance and re heated).
Place the sugar and red wine vinegar in a pan on a medium heat and reduce until you have a sticky caramel.
Pour in the wine and the stock and reduce by 2/3. When you have the consistency you desire, add in the cherries. Taste and if you feel it needs more sweetening, mix in the jam.
While the duck is resting you can prepare and simply blanche seasonal greens of your choice.
Once all the ingredients are ready, serve and enjoy.
Honey, Orange & Thyme Glazed Duck Breast
Gressingham Duck breasts are delicious with a variety of accompaniments. For those who are watching the calories a skinless duck breast has fewer calories and under half the fat of a skinless chicken fillet.
Ingredients
2 Gressingham Duck breasts
2 large oranges
10 new potatoes, boiled in salted water and then cut in half
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch of thyme
120g honey
Serves 2
10 minutes preparation
25 minutes cooking
Method
Pre-heat oven to 180c
Score the skin of the duck breasts and pat dry.
Peel and segment one of the oranges and zest the other orange and squeeze the juice out. Set both aside.
Boil the halved new potatoes for around 15 minutes or until soft in salted water.
Place a pan onto a low to medium heat, season the duck with salt and place into the pan with no oil and cook for 6-8 minutes or until the skin is crisp and golden. Pour off any excess fat as you cook. Flip the breast over and seal the meat for 30 seconds.
Transfer to a baking tray and place in the oven for 4 minutes.
Meanwhile place the pan back onto heat and add in the honey, orange juice and zest, garlic and half the thyme. Reduce the sauce by half. Add in the potatoes and the orange segments and continue to simmer until loosely sticky. Set aside.
Meanwhile remove the duck from the oven and glaze the skin generously with some of the pan mixture. Return to the oven for 2-3 minutes if you like it rare (cook for a few more minutes if you prefer it medium to well done), take out and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes.
When you are ready to eat, bring the pan up to the heat, divide the sauce and potatoes onto 2 plates. Carve the duck breast into 5 or 6 pieces and place on top. Serve with your favourite greens - pan fried courgette goes perfectly with this recipe.
Roast Gressingham Duck Legs with Plum Sauce, Butternut Squash & Green Beans
Gressingham Duck legs are delicious with a broad range of accompaniments including a sweet and tangy plum sauce, butternut squash and green beans combined in this recipe.
You will need:
2 Gressingham Duck legs
1 small butternut squash - peeled, seeds scooped out and diced into approx. 2cm pieces (squash size of large orange - if none this size available, cut a larger one down to size)
2 large potatoes - preferably Desiree
40g butter
100ml milk
2 small handfuls fine green beans - topped and tailed
Plum sauce
2-3 plums, stoned and roughly cut into 8 pieces
100 ml red wine
1/2 star anise (optional)
1 concentrated knorr beef stock reduction diluted with 300 ml of water
2-3 dessert spoons of plum jam
Method
Pre-heat oven to 190c.
Peel and dice potatoes into approximately 1 inch pieces. Place into a small pan, cover with water and add a small teaspoon of salt.
Pat the duck legs dry with absorbent paper and season both sides with salt. Then place on a roasting tray on a wire rack and pour half glass of water on the bottom tray. Place in the oven for 1 hour and ten minutes. Check for tenderness and return to oven for a further 10 minutes if necessary. While the duck is cooking prepare the sauce and vegetables.
First the sauce. Place a pan on a high heat with a dessert spoon of vegetable oil, when hot add in the plums and cook until coloured and slightly softened (approximately 2 minutes). Pour in the wine and star anise (if using) and reduce by 1/3.
Add in the stock and jam, mix in and simmer for 10 mins.
While simmering, put the potatoes on. When the 10 minutes is up, set the sauce aside in a warm place. If the sauce is too thin, mix a small teaspoon of corn flour with a little cold water and stir into the sauce.
Put the squash on a baking tray, drizzle generously with olive oil and season with salt and pepper and place into the oven for about 20-25 minutes.
Check your potatoes. When soft, drain the potatoes through a colander and leave for 5 minutes. Put a small pan on a low heat and gently heat the butter and milk.
Put another small pan of salted water on to boil for the beans.
Place the potatoes into the butter/milk pan and mash up - add in the squash which should now be ready and test for seasoning. Set aside.
When the duck is nearly ready, put the beans into boiling water for 5 minutes. Gently reheat the sauce and the mash. Drain the beans.
Divide the mash and vegetables onto the plates. Place the duck legs on top and pour over the desired amount of sauce.
Gressingham has lots of recipes along with "how-to" videos on their website www.gressinghamduck.co.uk