Peter A wrote:
>
>
> If I were going to a cook in and wanted to treat my pals to a great
> dish, the last thing I would do is something that I had always failed
> at.


LOL.... and duck is my culinary weakness. A few years back I swore off
cooking duck because they had all been failures and that last one had been
the worst. But then my wife's cousin served us an incredible duck dinner
and gave me the recipe he uses. It turned out quite nicely, so I am willing
to give it another try. However, I would rather not risk planning a dinner
party around it.

Duck a l'Orange

Duck Stock: (Make in advance)
Duck Giblets and neck 1 sliced onion
1 sliced carrot 1 ½ tbsp. Cooking oil
2 cups chicken broth 2 sprigs parsley
1 bay leaf ¼ tsp. Thyme

Chop the duck pieces into 1 ½ " pieces and brown them with the vegetable
in the oil. Discard oil and add liquid and herbs and enough water to cover
the duck pieces. Simmer partially covered for 1 ½ hour. Strain and pour
off grease. Makes about 1 cup

4 Navel Oranges
Remove the zest with a peeler and cut into julienne for q5 minutes in a
quart of water. Drain and pat dry on a paper towel.


Roasting the duck:
Oven 425
Season the cavity with salt and pepper and add a third of the prepared
orange peel. Prick the skin around the thighs back and lower breast.
Roast breast side up for 15 minutes. Lower temperature to 350 turn duck on
one side and roast for 30 minutes, then on the other side for 15 minute,
then breast side up.. Total cooking time is 80-100 minutes.

Sauce base:
3 Tbsp. Granulated sugar ¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 cups duck stock 2 Tbsp. Arrowroot blended with 3 Tbsp. Port.
The rest of the orange peel

While duck is roasting, prepare the sauce base. Make a sweet and sour
caramel by boiling sugar and vinegar over moderate -high heat until it
turns into a mahogany brown syrup. Remove from heat and add ½ cups duck
stock and simmer for a minute to dissolve the caramel then add the rest of
the stock. Stir in the arrowroot mixture and orange peel and simmer 3-4
minutes until sauce is clear, limpid and slightly thickened and set aside.

Cut the four oranges into neat, skinless segments and place in a covered
dish. When duck is done, discard trussing and set it on a platter. Return
it to warm oven. Remove as much fat as possible from the pan and add `/2
cup port to deglaze the pan. Reduce to a few tablespoons. Strain this
liquid into the sauce base and bring it to a simmer and stir in 2-3 Tbsp.
Orange liqueur. Add a few drops orange bitters or lemon juice to balance
flabours. Just before serving, stir in 2 Tbsp. Butter and pour sauce into
a serving bapt/
Place a line or orange slices along the duck and heap the rest at one end.