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2 ducklings, 4-5lb each
1/3 cup butter
1 large carrot, chopped coarsely
1 medium onion, chopped coarsely
2 large sprigs parsley
2 large sprigs celery leaves
small piece bay leaf
1 tsp dried leaf savory
salt and pepper
2 cups white wine
2 cups Brown stock
2 oranges
2 tbsp coldwater
1 tsp cornstarch
2 oranges
cranberry or red currant jelly
parsley or watercress |
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Method :
Dry ducklings
well inside and out with paper towelling. Heat butter in small saucepan
until it foams up. Skim off and discard foam. Pour clear yellow oil into
large heavy skillet and heat. (Discard sediment left in small saucepan.)
Brown ducklings well on all sides in this clarified butter. Heat oven to
325F (160C). Put carrot, onion, 2 sprigs parsley, celery leaves, bay
leaf and savory in an extra-large Dutch oven or pot with a tight lid (if
you don't have one large enough, use a large baking dish and use
heavy-duty aluminum foil as a cover). Sprinkle ducklings well inside and
out with salt and pepper and lay them on top of vegetables in pan. Add
wine and brown stock. Cover tightly and roast in oven about 2 hours or
until birds are just tender. Uncover and roast 15 minutes more to crisp
skin.
Squeeze 2 of
the oranges while the ducklings are cooking. Strain the juice and set it
aside to add to the sauce. Cut the peel of these 2 oranges into pieces and
lay the pieces flat on the table, white side up. Cut away all the white
membrane with a sharp pointed knife and discard. Cut the orange part of
the peel into short, thin slivers. Put them in a small saucepan, cover
with boiling water, cover and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain
and set aside for sauce. Lift ducklings out of pan, put them on a hot
platter and keep warm.
Strain
drippings in roasting pan, discard vegetables and chill drippings quickly
by setting in ice water. Lift off fat and discard. Put remaining liquid in
a saucepan and boil hard, uncovered, until reduced to about 1/4 of the
amount. Stir water and cornstarch together and stir this mixture into the
boiling liquid gradually. Turn down heat. Add orange juice and orange rind
and simmer 5 minutes. Cut remaining 2 oranges into thick slices and centre
each slice with a dab of cranberry or red currant jelly. Use these orange
slices to garnish platter and add a few large sprigs parsley or
watercress. Spoon a little of orange sauce over each serving of duckling.
Serves 6-8
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