Main Dish

Duck in Orange Sauce

Ingredients:

-        1 New Zealand size 19 (about 1.9kg)  Duck

-        1 whole orange

-        Fine sea salt

-        Ground pepper

-        4 tablespoon Grand Marnier

-        3 tablespoon butter

-        1 tablespoon Rice Bran oil

Orange Sauce:

-        Juice of 2 big oranges about 1 cup, strained

-        1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

-        2 teaspoon caster sugar

-        2 tablespoon limoncello or orange/Mandarin/peach liqueur

Method:

1.   Clean the duck and cut it into 6 or 8 pieces. Pat dry the duck pieces with kitchen towel and season the pieces with salt fine sea salt and pepper. Cut the orange own to flesh and into pieces, removing all fibres and seeds. Mix all ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
2.   Put the butter and the Rice Bran oil in a big and deep frying pan and heat it up with medium heat. When the butter melt and starts to bubble, fry the duck pieces with skin side down for 3 minutes, turn them and fry the other side for 2 minutes. Lower the heat and slowly fry the duck pieces for another 30 – 35 minutes. Turn the pieces occasionally so that the meat side is cooked and the skin side is slightly brown.  By this time, most of the fat under the duck skin should be rendered.
3.   Pour the Grand Marnier on top of the duck pieces and cook the duck for another 5 minutes. Remove the duck pieces from the pan and keep them warm while preparing the sauce.
4.   Skim most of the fat out from the frying pan. Strain the remaining juice/liqueur and pour it into a saucepan and add the sauce mixture. Stir the orange sauce well for 1 – 2 minutes in low heat.
5.   Put the orange pieces into another frying pan/skillet with 2 tablespoon of the orange sauce, heat them without boiling for 1 minute.
6.   Arrange the duck pieces onto a serving plate and surrounding them with the orange pieces.  Pour some of the orange sauce on top of the duck pieces and the rest with a sauce bowl before serving.

Hint:

-        Use Rice Bran oil with the butter helps the butter not to burn easily.

-        If less sweet liqueur is used, add ½ teaspoon of sugar, to make it an equal amount of            vinegar and caster sugar.

-        Do not discard the duck fat, it is good for roast potatoes.

-        Serve the dish with some simple green vegetables