Calvados Glazed Roast Duckling with Apple Sauce

Calvados Glazed Roast Duckling with Apple Sauce
Recipe by Dana McCauley

This dish is the final second entree option on Titanic's 1st class dinner menu. I love duck but I've never prepared a whole duck on my own so I was excited to try this recipe. The secret to this delicious duck is the glaze of Calvados, broth and brown sugar. Amazing, truly. Follow the directions completely and the skin will come out crispy and the duck juicy (I cooked it to medium). The apple sauce is a mix of sweet & savoury and the perfect balanced side to this duck. Enjoy!

Makes 2 servings (but can be doubled or tripled easily)

Ingredients:
1 duckling (about 4 pounds)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 shallots, peeled & halved
1 small tart apple cored & quartered
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup calvados or apple cider
1/2 cup brown sugar

Apple Sauce:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 small shallots, peeled, ends removed, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
2 tart apples, peeled, cored & chopped

Directions:
1. Remove giblets and neck from duck, rinse and pat dry inside and out.

2. Trim excess fat from both ends of cavity. In small bowl, stir together thyme, salt and pepper, rub all over duck, inside and out. Place shallots and apple inside cavity. Using poultry pins or basting needle, truss cavity closed. Twist wing tips behind back.

3. Place duck, breast side up on rack in large roasting pan. Roast in 425°F oven for 20 minutes. Shield breast meat with foil, reduce heat to 350°F and bake for 1 hour or until instant-read meat thermometer registers 180°F when inserted into leg. Place on heated platter.

4. Set roasting pan on stove over medium-high heat; skim off fat. Stir in chicken stock and Calvados. Bring to boil, stirring to scape up any brown bits. Boil for 5 minutes or until reduced to ½ cup. Stir in sugar and continue to cook for 3-5 minutes or until slightly syrupy. Pour into heatproof bowl.

5. Return duck to roasting pan; remove foil and brush with half the glaze. Bake in 350°F oven for 5 minutes and brush with remaining glaze. Roast for 20 minutes longer. Increase heat to 475°F and cook for 5 minutes or until skin is well browned and crisp. Remove to heated platter, tent with foil and let rest for 20 minutes.

6. Apple Sauce: While duck is resting, prepare the applesauce. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute 5 minutes or until they are softened.

7. Sprinkle the sugar over the shallots and continue sauteing them, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until shallots are well browned and very soft.

8. Stir in the cider vinegar and apples. Reduce heat slightly. Cover and cook 7-8 minutes or until apples are tender. Mash mixture until smooth and serve with duck.

3 comments:

Cheryl said...

I've never cooked duck before and when I have a chance, this looks like a great way to start. I've never heard of adding shallots to applesauce, I can imagine it's a fantastic addition. Beautiful...all of it is just beautiful!

Anonymous said...

This will be my first time cooking (as opposed to eating) a duck. In reviewing many recipes about duck, nearly all of them say to score the skin without touching the meat, and to roast these things for about 4 hours to obtain a crispy skin. I hope the shorter time for this recipe and no scoring will produce the crispy texture the great picture shows.

Mike L. said...

I've worked about halfway through the menu. The Roast duck was absolutely delicious and now I have a really nice savoury applesauce recipe to use. The kids just loved it! WE can't Calvados here but I used hard apple cider and the taste was great!

 
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