I killed my first two drakes last week and my first Mallard Limit Yesterday:

Here is my roast whole duck and duck a la orange recipe. This was one of my best cooks.

The al la Orange part of this dish is the sauce. The best way to make this sauce is to know what not to do.

What not to do:

If you look at YouTube videos of people making duck a la Orange you will see a lot adding chicken stock. Please do not do this. It breaks and thins the sauce. Instead, if you want, the duck will collect an au jus in the cavity. Pour no more than a quarter of a cup of this in the sauce and stir. I actually do not do this because I want a thicker sauce.

Ingredients:

You will need the following: 1) at least 8 carrots whole, 6 celery stalks or hearts, a yellow onion peeled; 2) 1 cup of the the best and naturalist RED WINE Vinegar you can buy (I really like Pompeian Organic Red Wine, unfiltered, and raw with “mother” (whatever you buy read the label and get the most unaided least processed you can find) 3) 1 cup of white sugar; 4) I hand squeeze the juice of two oranges (if you use a juicer or have really juicy oranges than one will be fine; 5) the zest of two oranges; 6) two table spoons of unsalted butter; 7) canola oil to coat Dutch oven; 8)Sea Salt and black pepper (in grinders).

Tools:

1 large measuring cup for the vegetables; 2 small measuring cups for the vinegar and sugar, 1 small bowl to catch the zest of the oranges; a cocktail shaker with stainer to squeeze oranges into and strain pulp and seeds with; a large Dutch oven (one could use a large stock pot, or kettle); 1 large(er) wooden spoon, 1 cutting board or cutting surface; 1 chopping knife; 1 strainer, 1 deep down, and 1 zester or medium sized fine grader.

The Prep:

Rough chop the carrots and celery. They do not need to be nor should be fine as they are just there to build the base flavor for the sauce. I just chop the carrots into disk up the length of the carrot. The clergy, if using stalks cut the head and the white end off (leaving just the heart) I turn upside down u looking up, and split down the middle (more or less) then chop the two ends. Add carrots and celery as you chop the individual units. The onion, I do not like a lot of onion. I peel it and quarter it. If a small onion, I will use two quarters. If a large onion, I will half a quarter and use the two quarter halves. This cook, I used two quarter halves (no need to chop or dice as it is just going to be strained out). If you like onion, half the onion and use both halves.

In one small measuring cup pour in 1 cup of Red Wine Vinegar. In the other small measuring cup pour in 1 cup of sugar. Set both aside.

Zest the oranges into a small bowl wide enough to catch the zest. You will have to clear most of the zest from your zester or medium size, fine grater.

Squeeze orange juice into the cocktail shaker and place the cocktail strainer over it

Place Dutch oven on the stove (largest burner), add butter and enough canola oil to cover the bottom. Turn to medium high heat (My stove is a gas range with only three setting being hot, hotter, and hell. I want hotter.)

When butter is melting give it a good stir with the wood spoon. Grind sea salt and black pepper to coat. Add the chopped vegetables and sauté (Sauté means to jump. Keep everything moving and mixing do not stop.). You feel everything loosen up as you stir. You will also start to smell everything. When the carrots are glazey and the onion is starting to brown, push or lift the Dutch oven on to a burner without heat (do not turn off your burner).

Keeping stirring the vegetables and let the Dutch cool to where no steam is rising, but you still want it hot, let everything come down to a low simmer. When this happen keep stirring the vegetables and add the 1 cup of sugar. This will keep the sugar from burning. You will see the sugar become a brown past around the vegetables. Once you have this brown past add the Red Wine vinegar and stir, push or bring the Dutch oven back over heat.

Stir and do not stop stirring. You will think you added too much Red Wine vinegar from the vapor or smell. You have not taste the liquid. The base is already delicious. When you taste decide if you want to grind in anymore sea salt and black pepper (I do.). Keep string, when you get a good boil turn the sauce down to a simmer. Add the orange juice and orange zest and stir to incorporate.

Now, you can easy up on the stirring, but you will want to stir every 3 to five minutes. I cannot tell you how long to let the base simmer, because everyone’s stove cooks differently (Remember my stoves lowest range is hot.) Cook until it is a thick as you want. I want almost syrup. Use the back of a metal spoon to check viscosity. When you have the desired level of viscosity, strain the sauce into a deep bowl.

If you make this and like it. You can play with spice such as adding Cayenne pepper, or ground clove, ground all spice, maybe a little (very little) soy sauce.

Roast Whole Duck:

Here is a trick I have learned about ducks. First, before you pluck them. Hold the duck by the leg. At the knee joint, take a knife and ring the skin of the joint. Grasp the ankle firmly in one and and the leg in the other and pull firmly and continually. You will pull out the tensions that make the legs tough and too chewy. You may loose a quarter inch of meat. That is fine.

I have a gas, convection baked oven. Set it to convection back for 400. If you only have a bake oven that is fine.

Now, back to the duck. You have your duck plucked. I brine it for 48 hours in sea salt water and orange juice. Take the duck out pat dry. You can do this the day before cook and let dry uncovered in the refrigerator.

The duck is dry and the oven is preheated to 400 hundred degrees USA. Score (cut slashes across the sling but not through the flesh) the breast and the top of thigh skin with a thin, sharp blade knife.

Here is a very important and neat trick. The whole duck is laying on its back with legs facing you. Lift the leg and cut the skin where the thigh meets the body. This lets heat in faster, fat out, and lets the legs not get over down.

Place the duck on a roaster rack in a stainless steel roaster. Salt the whole bird. You will have to press the salt into the skin, a lot will fall off, but get a decent salting. Again, I use grinder and sea salt. Do the same with fresh ground black pepper. Grind Sea salt and black pepper in the cavity of the duck. Make sure to stick the grinders in as far as you can and still work them and work out. In the cavity of the duck add fresh thyme and Rosemary

Into the oven for 30 minutes and check. I want the thighs to be 140-145.

I get the duck in the oven then make the sauce.