Thread: Roast Duck with Peaches

Ducks mature quickly, reaching their prime when they are 9-12 weeks old and weighing 5-7lb.

Make sure the duck is at room temperature. Remove the giblets if there are any. Wash the duck quickly inside and out in warm water and dry it off. Duck is a very fatty bird, so you do not need to add any extra fat when roasting. I usually cut all visible fat from the openings of the duck before cooking. Then, using a skewer or fork, prick the skin all over to encourage the fat to run out during roasting During roasting you can prick the skin every 30mins to release any melted fat.




Serves 4
4-5lb duck
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2oz butter
2 oranges
juice of 2 lemons
6 fresh peaches
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
5 fl oz dry vermouth
1 1/2 teaspoon cornflour
2 tablespoons of peach liqueur or orange curacao
2 tablespoons redcurrant jelly


1 Prepare duck as above, and preheat oven to 350f

2 Truss the duck - lay duck on it's breast. Draw neck skin over the back. Press the wings close to the body and insert a skewer through one wing, through the flap of the neck skin and out through the other wing. Turn the duck on it's back and tie the legs securely together with string. Draw the string under the parsons nose and tie it tightly.

3 Melt the butter in a deep roasting tin over a low heat. Turn the duck in the butter until crisp and golden on all sides - about 15 minutes. remove the duck from tin and season all over with salt and pepper.

4 Put the duck on a rack in the roasting tin. Roast the duck in the oven for 1 1/2 hours or until cooked pricking the skin and basting every 30 mins with the juices that collect in the tin.

5 While the duck is roasting, start preparing the sauce. Thinly pare the zest from the oranges using a potato peeler. Cut the zest into thin strips. Squeeze the orange juice and put to one side.

6 Skin the peaches, one at a time ... drop them into boiling water, leave for 1-2 mins to loosen the skin and remove from water. Gently slip off the skin. Cut each skinned peach in half and remove the stone.

7 Dissolve sugar in the wine vinegar in a small saucepan, stirring over a low heat. Then simmer until the syrup turns a deep golden caramel. Stir in the lemon and orange juice and vermouth, and season to taste. Sieve 4 of the prepared peach halves into the syrup and simmer gently for 5 mins, Keep warm. (to make it easier you can puree the 4 peach halves in a blender, and then push through the sieve)

8 When the duck is cooked, remove the trussing skewer and string and transfer duck to a heated serving dish. Arrange remaining peach halves around the duck. Keep hot while you finish the sauce.

9 Blend the cornflour to a smooth paste with the peach liqueur or orange curacao. Pour off almost all of the fat from the roasting tin. Add the peach syrup and cornflour paste to the tin, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.

10 Cook the sauce over a moderate heat until the sauce is smooth and slightly thickened, scraping all the bits from the tin into the sauce. Add the redcurrant jelly and strips of orange zest and stir until the jelly has melted. Taste and correct the seasoning with extra salt and pepper if necessary.

11 Serve duck immediately accompanied by the sauce.