Roast Duck with Orange
First of all, for this wonderful and "sophisticated" recipe you need: 1 whole duck, 1 orange and a little pepper and salt. I wrote this quickly not to let the pretentious title scare you. The combination really got me blocked at first, thinking that this duck with oranges was too complicated and fancy.
Until one day when I found the courage to play a little in the kitchen and I cooked it like this, in the simplest possible way. It was a huge success from the first bite. Since then I've been cooking it constantly and we actually devour it. The orange flavour is very fine and matches perfectly the crispy skin and the wonderful taste of the roast duck.
There is no need for special sauces - because of the fatty skin, the duck will have a super-delicious and crunchy crust, while the meat stays tender. The whole secret is to follow some general and simple recommendations.
First of all, clean and wash the duck thoroughly and remove any impurity.
Cut off the sharp wing tips, I don't recommend baking them in the oven. First of all, they will dry completely and there will be nothing left to eat. Then, think what the roast duck will look like with these burnt and raised tips as if they were some spikes :)
So, cut them off without mercy and save for a soup, or even keep in the freezer and boil when you make cabbage rolls (they taste good).
Also, be sure to carefully cut/remove with a knife the fat glands on the tail, they are at the back, right at the end of the tail.
On a plate, grate the peel of an orange, well-washed in advance with hot water (you can of course use organic, untreated orange).
Do not insist much on the white side, we only need the orange zest.
Add 1 tablespoon of salt and half a teaspoon of ground pepper to the zest and mix well.
With this combination of flavors, coat the duck on all sides, even on the inside.
You can let the duck marinate for a few hours or overnight, if you have time. I cook it even right away when I'm in a hurry, it's really good anyway.
Cut the zested orange into 5-6 large pieces and insert in the duck's belly.
Close the belly tightly with a few toothpicks. They will come off anyway during the baking, but they will still keep the flavors and steam inside.
Notice that I placed the duck in a compact oven dish, large enough to fit perfectly. If you use a large dish, the juice and fat will spread all over, will burn and the outcome will be a little different.
Cover the dish with a lid, aluminum foil or baking bag and place in the preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, remove the foil and use the brush to grease the duck with the juice and fat released in the dish.
Put back in the oven for another 30 minutes.
Every 10 minutes, grease the top with the juice and fat.
In the end, we get a brown, crisp and evenly baked skin - it's perfect, isn't it?
After the oven, let sit in the pan for about 15 minutes to cool.
We served it with fresh vegetable salad and lemon rice. It is also perfect with some mashed or baked potatoes, depending on what you like.
Enjoy!
