Best Cranberry Orange Roast Ducklings Recipes

CHRISTMAS ROAST DUCK WITH CRANBERRY-ORANGE GLAZE

Steps:

• For Christmas Roast Duck
• Pat the duck dry with paper towels. Trim off excess fat on the side opposite of the cavity. Place the duck on a sturdy cutting board and score the breast skin using a sharp knife. Cut the skin in a criss-cross pattern but make sure you don't pierce the meat to avoid drying it out.
• Stuff the duck cavity with onion quarters, lemon quarters and herbs and tie together the legs. Pat the duck dry one more time with paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible and generously sprinkle with salt all over. Place in the refrigerator uncovered for a minimum of an hour but preferably at least eight hours and up to a day to allow for extra crispy skin.
• Remove the duck 30 minutes before roasting to sit in room temperature and heat oven to 425 degrees. Cover a roasting pan with tinfoil and place the rack in the roasting pan. If you don't have a roasting pan, substitute a large baking sheet and a wire rack. Place the duck on the rack. Stir together the paprika, pepper and garlic pepper and rub all over the duck.
• Roast for 15 minutes in a 425-degree oven, and then turn the temperature to 350 degrees. Continue to roast until the duck reaches your desired internal temperature. Plan for at least one hour and 15 minutes. The USDA recommends an internal temperature of 165 degrees, though many chefs prefer duck between 135-145 degrees. In the final 15 minutes, brush the duck with the glaze.
• When the duck reaches your desired temperature. Remove from the oven, cover with foil and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Carve the duck and serve. Enjoy!
• For Cranberry-Orange Glaze
• In a small saucepan, stir together the cranberry juice, orange juice, molasses, cinnamon sticks, garlic, ginger, balsamic vinegar, salt and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then simmer until it slightly reduces.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and a little bit of cold water until it becomes a smooth slurry. Whisk into the sauce to avoid any clumps forming and bring to a boil. Keep whisking and allow the mixture to boil for about a minute until it thickens. Turn off heat and stir in orange zest. Spoon some of the sauce into a small bowl and brush onto the duck in the last 15 minutes of roasting. Serve the remaining sauce on the side.

ROAST DUCK WITH ORANGE GLAZE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Sprinkle inside of duck with caraway seeds; prick skin all over with a fork. In a large skillet, sauté vegetables in oil. Stir in broth, seasonings and stuffing., Loosely stuff duck with stuffing mixture. Skewer neck opening; tie drumsticks together with kitchen string. Place breast side up on a rack in a large shallow roasting pan., Bake, uncovered, until golden brown and a thermometer reads 170° for the duck and 165° for the stuffing, 2-1/2 to 3-1/4 hours. Drain fat from pan as it accumulates. Cover loosely with foil if duck browns too quickly. Cover and let stand 20 minutes before removing stuffing and carving., Meanwhile, for glaze, combine sugars, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan. Gradually stir in orange juice, zest and hot pepper sauce until blended. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with duck.

ROAST DUCK WITH ORANGE AND GINGER

Steps:

• Rinse duck and pat dry. Remove neck and giblets and save for another purpose. Remove excess fat from cavity and tail area and trim off a bit of flappy neck skin. Prick duck skin all over with tip of sharp paring knife, making sure not to penetrate meat.
• Mix together salt and 5-spice powder. Season interior of duck with 1 tablespoon salt mixture; use remainder to generously season exterior (you may have a little left over). Combine orange zest with grated ginger and garlic, then smear mixture inside cavity. Place orange wedges in cavity. Tie legs together. Secure neck flap with wooden skewer or toothpicks. Place duck on rack in roasting pan breast-side-up and refrigerate overnight, uncovered.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, bring duck to room temperature and make the glaze: Bring orange juice, honey, sugar and soy sauce to a simmer. Add sliced ginger and star anise, then reduce mixture until you have a medium-thick syrup, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Roast duck for 2 hours, carefully pouring off fat and turning duck over every 30 minutes. Paint with glaze and roast another 30 minutes (2 1/2 hours in all). Tent with foil if glaze begins to get too dark. Duck is done when temperature at thickest part of leg reads 165 degrees. Paint duck once more, keep warm and let rest 20 minutes. Use poultry shears to cut into quarters (remove backbone first) or carve in the traditional way, removing legs from carcass and slicing breast. Serve with mashed butternut squash if desired.

ROAST DUCK WITH CRANBERRY GLAZE

Steps:

• Rinse the cranberries carefully under running water, and pick them over to remove any that have spoiled.
• Mix one cup of cranberries, the honey, and one-half cup of water in a small saucepan and cook, simmering, until the cranberries are very soft. Strain through a sieve into a small bowl. The honey liquid is the glaze for the duck.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F Remove the gizzard, heart, and liver from the duck and set aside. Put the orange peel, half the onion, and about half a teaspoon of salt and pepper in the cavity. Paint the duck with a little of the cranberry glaze.
• Place the duck on a rack in a roasting pan and roast for 45 minutes. Every 15 minutes, paint the surface with a little of the cranberry glaze. Remove the duck from the oven and prick the skin all over with a fork to release the fat. Return to the oven and continue roasting, painting every 15 minutes with the glaze, for a total of two hours.
• While the duck is roasting, make a broth with the innards: roughly chop the remaining half onion and the duck innards. Place in a small saucepan with the wine, another half teaspoon of salt and pepper, and a cup of water. Simmer gently for an hour or more, until the broth is reduced to approximately one-half cup of flavorful liquid. Strain the broth and discard the solids.
• Mix the remaining half cup of cranberries with the remaining half cup of water, the sugar, and the balsamic vinegar. Cook together for 10 minutes until the mixture is syrupy. Set aside.
• When the duck has finished roasting, remove it from the oven and set aside. It should be a beautiful dark-red color.
• Strain the pan juices into a glass measuring cup and carefully remove the duck fat that floats to the top. (Do not discard: duck fat is wonderful for roasting or frying potatoes.) Add the innard broth the roasting juices and use this to deglaze the roasting pan, scraping up the roasting bits that have stuck to the pan. Strain the whole through a fine sieve and place in a small saucepan.
• Add the cranberry-vinegar syrup to the pan juices and broth. If there is any glaze remaining, add that to the mixture and bring the whole to a simmer just to warm it and mix everything together.
• Carve the duck if you wish, or send it whole to the table, together with the warm cranberry sauce.

CRANBERRY ORANGE DUCK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Sprinkle Chinese five-spice powder inside the duck cavity. Add chopped onion and cubed orange.
• Combine cranberries, orange liqueur, honey, white sugar, and soy sauce in a saucepan. Cook and stir until glaze reaches a jam-like consistency, 7 to 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, about 3 minutes.
• Place duck on a roasting rack inside a roasting pan; baste with the glaze.
• Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 2 1/2 hours. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

ROAST DUCK, WITH CRANBERRIES

Steps:

• Reserve the gizzard, heart and neck of the duck and pull off as much fat as possible from the cavity. Reserve the fat. The liver of the duck will not be used in this recipe but it can be diced and sauteed with mushrooms as an hors d'ouevre or frozen for later use.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly season the duck with salt and pepper and place it on a rack in a roasting pan. Prick the skin lightly all over and roast for one hour and 15 minutes. Prick the skin lightly from time to time while the duck is roasting.
• During the roasting time, heat one tablespoon of the duck fat in a heavy saucepan. Mince the gizzard and heart and add it to the pan along with the onion and celery. Saute the vegetables and duck innards until they are lightly browned. Add the garlic, one-half cup of the wine and stir to loosen any brown particles in the pan. Add the water, the neck of the duck and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer covered for 45 minutes. Strain this stock into a clean saucepan.
• Add the cranberries to the strained stock in the saucepan along with the vinegar and sugar. Cook over medium low heat until the cranberries soften and pop. Lower heat and simmer until the sauce has thickened somewhat.
• When the duck has finished roasting, remove it to a platter. Pour the fat out of the roasting pan (it can be reserved for another cooking purpose). Add the remaining 1/2 cup of red wine to the pan. Stir to scrape up any brown particles and pour this mixture into the sauce.
• Re-heat the sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper. Carve or quarter the duck and serve with the sauce.

ROAST DUCK WITH CRANBERRY GLAZE

Steps:

• Rinse the cranberries carefully under running water and pick them over to remove any that have spoiled.
• Mix one cup of cranberries, the honey and one-half cup of water in a small saucepan and cook, simmering, until the cranberries are very soft. Strain through a sieve into a small bowl. The honey liquid is the glaze for the duck.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the gizzard, heart and liver from the duck and set aside. Put the orange peel, half the onion and about half a teaspoon of salt and pepper in the cavity. Paint the duck with a little of the cranberry glaze.
• Place the duck on a rack in a roasting pan and roast for 45 minutes. Every 15 minutes, paint the surface with a little of the cranberry glaze. Remove the duck from the oven and prick the skin all over with a fork to release the fat. Return to the oven and continue roasting, painting every 15 minutes with the glaze, for a total of two hours.
• While the duck is roasting, make a broth with the innards: Roughly chop the remaining half onion and the duck innards. Place in a small saucepan with the wine, another half teaspoon of salt and pepper and a cup of water. Simmer gently for an hour or more, until the broth is reduced to approximately one-half cup of flavorful liquid. Strain the broth and discard the solids.
• Mix the remaining half cup of cranberries with the remaining half cup of water, the sugar and the balsamic vinegar. Cook together for 10 minutes until the mixture is syrupy. Set aside.
• When the duck has finished roasting, remove it from the oven and set aside. It should be a beautiful dark-red color.
• Strain the pan juices into a glass measuring cup and carefully remove the duck fat that floats to the top. (Do not discard: duck fat is wonderful for roasting or frying potatoes.) Add the innard broth to the roasting juices and use this to deglaze the roasting pan, scraping up the roasting bits that have stuck to the pan. Strain the whole through a fine sieve and place in a small saucepan.
• Add the cranberry-vinegar syrup to the pan juices and broth. If there is any glaze remaining, add that to the mixture and bring the whole to a simmer just to warm it and mix everything together.
• Carve the duck if you wish, or send it whole to the table, together with the warm cranberry sauce.