Poor Mans Duck A Lorange Recipes

CLASSIC FRENCH DUCK A L'ORANGE

Steps:

• Use a needle or sharp knife point to pierce the skin of the fat ducks all over, taking care to not pierce the meat itself; go in at an angle. This helps the fat render out of the bird. Salt the ducks well and preheat the oven to 325°F.
• Put the ducks in an ovenproof pan. I rest them on celery leaves to prop them above the level of the pan; this helps them crisp better. If you want, surround the duck with some root vegetables. Roast for 90 minutes.
• Take the pan out and increase the heat to 425°F. When it hits this temperature, put the birds back in the oven and roast until the skin is crispy, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, boil the vinegar and sugar in a small pot until it turns brown. Pour in the stock little by little, stirring all the while. Set aside.
• Shave the peel off the oranges, grating some fine and keeping the peel of 2 oranges in large pieces. Juice 2 oranges. Cut segments from the other 2 oranges. Here is a tutorial on how to do that.
• When the ducks are ready, remove them from the oven and let them rest on a cutting board.
• Finish the sauce. Bring it to a simmer, then add about 1/2 cup of orange juice and the large bits of peel. Simmer 5 minutes. Whisk together a little of the sauce with the starch, and, when it's mixed well, stir it into the saucepot to thicken. Add the Grand Marnier and enough salt and orange bitters to taste. Swirl in the butter one tablespoon at a time.
• To serve, carve the duck and arrange on plates. Give everyone some orange supremes and pour over the sauce. Garnish with the grated zest, and serve with good bread, mashed potatoes or celery root, or polenta.

DUCK A L'ORANGE

Steps:

• Roast duck:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 475°F.
• Stir together salt, coriander, cumin, and pepper. Pat duck dry and sprinkle inside and out with spice mixture. Cut 1 half of orange into quarters and put in duck cavity with thyme, marjoram, parsley, and 4 onion wedges.
• Squeeze juice from remaining half of orange and stir together with wine and stock. Set aside.
• Spread remaining 4 onion wedges in roasting pan with carrot and celery, then place duck on top of vegetables and roast 30 minutes.
• Pour wine mixture into roasting pan and reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Continue to roast duck until thermometer inserted into a thigh (close to but not touching bone) registers 170°F, 1 to 1 1/4 hours more. Turn on broiler and broil duck 3 to 4 inches from heat until top is golden brown, about 3 minutes.
• Tilt duck to drain juices from cavity into pan and transfer duck to a cutting board, reserving juices in pan. Let duck stand 15 minutes.
• Make sauce:
• While duck roasts, cook sugar in a dry 1-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, undisturbed, until it begins to melt. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally with a fork, until sugar melts into a deep golden caramel. Add orange juice, vinegar, and salt (use caution; mixture will bubble and steam vigorously) and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until caramel is dissolved. Remove syrup from heat.
• Discard vegetables from roasting pan and pour pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve into a 1-quart glass measure or bowl, then skim off and discard fat. Add enough stock to pan juices to total 1 cup liquid.
• Stir together butter and flour to form a beurre manié. Bring pan juices to a simmer in a 1- to 2-quart heavy saucepan, then add beurre manié, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Add orange syrup and zest and simmer, whisking occasionally, until sauce is thickened slightly and zest is tender, about 5 minutes. Serve with duck.
• Available at D'Artagnan (800-327-8246).

CLASSIC DUCK A L'ORANGE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
• Roughly chop the orange rinds after juicing and place in the cleaned duck cavity. Place the stuffed duck on a baking rack over a baking sheet with 1/2-inch of water. Bake until skin turns golden brown and lightly crisps, about 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 300 degrees and continue cooking until duck reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees, about 1 hour.
• In a medium heavy saucepan combine the orange juice, zest and sugar over medium high heat and reduce nearly 3/4 in volume, to about 3/4 cup. Add bitters to orange juice gastrique, and set aside. Place duck stock in clean saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add hot stock to reduced orange gastrique, and continue to simmer over medium low heat for 10 minutes to make sauce.
• Remove duck from roasting pan and discard drippings in bottom of pan. Return duck to roasting pan and place pan over 2 burners over medium high heat. Add orange liqueur to pan and cook off the alcohol, scraping the pan continuously with a large wooden spoon. Add 1 cup of the orange sauce to the roasting pan and cook 1 minute. Remove duck from the pan and discard orange rinds in cavity. Place duck on serving platter and let sit 10 minutes before carving. Combine roasting pan juices and orange sauce in a gravy boat and serve with carved duck.

POOR MAN'S DUCK A L'ORANGE

Steps:

• Skin and bone chicken breast halves.
• Sauté chicken in butter in a large skillet over medium heat until browned and cooked through (about 8 minutes).
• Remove to a platter, cover and keep warm.
• In the same skillet, sauté onion until tender but not browned; add juice concentrate, tarragon, pepper and salt.
• Stir in the evaporated milk and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is slightly thickened.
• Spoon the sauce over the chicken.
• Garnish with a sprig of tarragon and a slice of lemon cut halfway through and twisted over the top.