There’s nothing quite like a perfectly cooked roast Duck with Orange Sauce.This recipe delivers perfectly cooked duck every time.
Although popular in its hay day, dishes such as Duck à l’orange seem to have fallen out of vogue. But we are here to say that you can’t deny that the combination of duck and orange works, and you should add it to your list of things to try!
Duck with orange sauce is a stunning winter dish you can easily make yourself. There’s no need to be intimidated by roasting duck ever again!
Its sweet and slightly sour flavors from the orange sauce match perfectly with the natural taste and fattiness of the duck.
With our easy-to-follow guide, you can have this tasty meal on your table in no time!
Main ingredients for Duck with Orange Sauce
- Whole duck: Choose wild-caught or free-range duck if you prefer less fat; commercially raised ducks can often be higher in fat due to diet/living conditions.
- Grand Marnier: Grand Marnier is a French liqueur with origins that date back to 1880. This orange-flavored liqueur combines cognac, bitter orange, and sugar and helps form the orange sauce.
- Oranges: Typically, Seville oranges would be used for their strong orange flavor. Comparatively, naval oranges are sweeter and have less of an ‘orange’ flavor. We used navel oranges for our recipe and found that the Grand Marnier helped to reinforce the orange taste.
- White wine vinegar: Vinegar is used to deglaze the caramelized sugar and provides the sour element of the sauce.
How To Make Duck with Orange Sauce
- Clean up: Cut away anything that doesn’t look appetizing and pluck any feathers that might be remaining.
- Prick the skin: Prick the skin all over; this allows the fat to come out easier while roasting.
- Season the duck: Use salt and pepper liberally, and ensure you cover the top, bottom, and inside the cavity.
- Tie the legs: Place the duck on a roasting rack. Pull the legs in together and tie them with cooking twine. After these steps, the duck can be placed in the preheated oven.
- Dissolve the sugar: Dissolve the sugar into the vinegar; this is done without heat.
- Boil the mixture: Once the sugar has dissolved into the vinegar, begin boiling over high heat until it becomes a caramel color.
- Add orange juice: Carefully add the orange juice and orange peel to the sauce.
- Add Grand Marnier: After mixing everything, add the Grand Marnier and simmer.
- Take out of the oven: Remove the duck from the oven. You might not see too much color at this stage, but don’t worry.
- Baste with orange sauce: With the orange sauce, spoon over the duck, trying to cover the bird as much as possible. You will need to continue basting the duck another three or four times throughout the roasting.
- Remove from the oven: Pierce the thickest part of the thigh, and if the juices run clear, it’s time to remove from the oven.
- Collect pan juices: Save all of those fantastic pan juices.
- Combine juices: Add the pan-juices to the orange sauce and simmer.
- Strain sauce: Pour the sauce through a strainer into a gravy boat.
Finally garnish the platter with orange slices and serve warm with the orange sauce and your favourite side dish.
Want more great recipes?
- Top your Sunday roast off with this delectable French recipe for Alsatian Apple Tart.
- Or try this no-fuss No Bake Raspberry Jam Cheesecake recipe.
Duck with Orange Sauce
Sweet and sour orange sauce with succulent roasted duck
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Servings: 6 serves
Ingredients
- 4.5 lb whole duck
- 2 oranges
- 4 oz superfine sugar
- 3 floz white wine vinegar
- 4 floz Grand Marnier
- pinch salt
- ground black pepper
- fresh orange slices
Instructions
First bake:
- Preheat oven to 300F (150C) and select a middle shelf position.
- Trim: Trim off any unsightly fat or skin from the duck. Keep in mind that you don't want to remove the skin; instead, just any odd-looking parts.
- Clean and dry: Clean the duck by running it under a cold tap, then with a paper towel, pat dry the duck thoroughly. Then use a fork to prick the skin all over.
- Season: Rub salt and pepper all over the duck, including the inside of the cavity.
- Bound the legs: With cooking twine, tie the legs together firmly.
- Place on a rack: Place the duck on a roasting rack and then onto a large roasting tray.
- Roast: In the preheated oven, roast for around 1hr and 30mins.
Orange Sauce:
- Peel: Using a peeler, remove the peel from one orange into long strips, then julienne them thinly.
- Juice: Squeeze the juice from the remaining orange and set a side.
- In a cold saucepan: Add the sugar and the vinegar, stir until the sugar is dissolved.
- Boil: Over high heat, boil the sugar and the vinegar mixture without stirring until it's a rich caramel color
- Remove from heat: Remove the saucepan from the heat, STAND BACK, and VERY CAREFULLY pour the orange juice slowly down the side of the saucepan.
- Mix: Carefully blend the orange juice with the sugar and vinegar mixture. Once mixed, Add the julienned orange peels and liqueur.
- Simmer: Simmer for 2-3 minutes and set aside.
Second and Final Roast:
- After first roast: remove the duck from the oven and pour all of the fat from the roasting pan into a bowl for later.
- Increase oven temp: Increase the oven temperature to 400F (200C).
- Return to oven: Return the duck back into the oven and bake uncovered for another 25-30 minutes.
- Baste: Ensure to baste the duck with the orange sauce 3-4 times until the duck is golden brown, and when a knife pricks into the thigh, the juice runs clear.
Rest and Serve:
- Remove: Now that the juice runs clear, remove the duck from the oven.
- Save the pan juices: Pour the duck fat from the cavity and any other juices from the roasting pan into the leftover orange sauce in the saucepan.
- Cover the duck: Leave the duck loosely covered with the foil on a carving board for 15 minutes.
- Reheat sauce: Place the orange sauce mixture on a stove over medium heat. Skim off the excess fat and simmer gently for 3 to 5mins. Strain sauce into a gravy boat, or keep the lumps and bumps if you prefer.
- Garnish: Garnish the platter with orange slices and serve warm with the orange sauce.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serve | Calories: 1531kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 134g | Saturated Fat: 45g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 17g | Monounsaturated Fat: 64g | Cholesterol: 259mg | Sodium: 217mg | Potassium: 802mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 670IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 8mg
