Duck à l'Orange

Before starting this Duck à l'Orange recipe, make sure you have organised all the necessary ingredients.

Dress the duck and reserve the giblets.

Singe the duck over the gas stove or with a blow torch to remove any persistent down.

Repeat the same operation on the back of the duck.

Place the duck in a roasting dish. Sprinkle some oil and season with salt and pepper.

Bake in a hot oven for 1h20. Baste frequently during the cooking process.

In a separate baking dish, brown the giblets.

Add the sliced onions and carrots, a whole garlic clove (skin removed), the thyme and bay leaves. Bake for 15 minutes until the vegetable preparation is golden. Halfway through, the vegetables and giblets should be stirred.

Tip the preparation into a saucepan...

... and moisten with 50 cl of white wine. Add 15 grams of tomato paste.

Bring to a boil. Cover with a lid and cook for 45 minutes. When the cooking is complete, strain through a chinois.

In a separate saucepan, make a gastrique with sugar and vinegar.

In the meantime, flute the skin of 6 oranges.

Blanch the resulting zest strips in boiling water for a few minutes in order to reduce their bitterness.

When the gastrique is a light brown...

... add the strained duck stock. (Take extra precautions as you might get burnt with splashes of gastrique juice.)

Add the blanched zest strips...

... and the strained orange juice (the pulp should not go in the sauce)...

... and the Grand-Marnier. Cut 3 oranges into slices. These will be used as decorations.

Combine well with a whisk.

Reduce the juice until the sauce has a 'coating' consistency, i.e. thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Add the butter and whisk to make the sauce smoother. If needed, adjust the seasoning and keep warm in a bain-marie.

When the duck is cooked...

... place it on a serving dish with orange slices at the bottom.
Glaze the duck with the orange sauce and zest. Display the rest of the sauce in a sauce boat. This dish should be served hot. Enjoy!