Recipe: Cranberry and orange roast wild duck

Time Well Spent June 15, 2022

Recipe courtesy of: Game for Anything

Roast duck with cranberry and orange, fondant potatoes and cabbage and bacon
Serves 2 

Ingredients  
Roast duck  

• 1 wild oven-ready duck (approx. 1kg) 
• ½ onion, cut in half 
• ½ lemon, cut in half 

Cranberry and orange sauce  

• 150ml cranberry juice  
• 150ml orange juice  
• 30g brown sugar  
• 1 cinnamon stick  
• 1 garlic clove, crushed 
• 10g fresh ginger, grated  
• 2tsp balsamic vinegar  
• 50ml port  
• 20g dried cranberries  
• Zest of 1 orange  
• Juice of 1 orange  

Fondant potatoes  

• 4 maris piper potatoes 
• 50g unsalted butter  
• 2 garlic gloves, crushed  
• Fresh rosemary sprig 
• Fresh thyme sprig  
• 200ml game stock  

Cabbage and bacon  

• 100g bacon lardons  
• 100ml double cream  
• 150g savoy cabbage, sliced  

Method  
Roast duck  

1. Heat the oven to 180°C. Top tip: Cooking time for roast duck is 20 mins per 500g plus 20 mins, so for a 1kg bird it will be 1 hour, followed by 20 mins resting time. 
2. Using kitchen roll, pat the duck dry, then with a sharp knife cut the skin in a criss-cross pattern. 
3. Place the onion & lemon into the cavity and return to the fridge for 2 hours. 
4. Remove from the fridge 30 mins before you want to start cooking.  
5. Place into the oven to roast. 
6. 15 mins before the end of cooking, spoon over some of the sauce and repeat with 5 mins to go. 
7. When cooked, remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15-20 mins. 
8. Carve when ready to serve.  

Sauce  

1. Place the cranberries into the port and leave them overnight.  
2. Place all the ingredients into a saucepan including the port and cranberries.  
3. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 mins.  

Fondant Potatoes  

1. Heat the oven to 180°C. 
2. Peel the potatoes and use a circular cutter to form them into barrels. Then, using a knife, square off the ends. 
3. Add the butter to a frying pan and heat. When the butter is melted, place in the potatoes and brown off the ends. 
4. Place them into an ovenproof dish and add the herbs, garlic and stock. 
5. Cover with tin foil and place in the oven and cook for 30 mins until the potatoes are soft.  

Cabbage & bacon  

1. Fry the bacon lardons in a large frying pan. At the same time, steam the cabbage for about 5 mins until tender. 
2. Once the bacon is cooked, add the cream and the cabbage and stir to combine.