Wednesday 5 February
Harold arrived today, and we
thought we'd welcome him with something unusual. Since duck can be bought fresh here for very
little more than chicken, we got ourselves a most ingenious pair of ducks.
We pricked their breasts to let
the fat run out, and the two of them roasted side-by-side in the highest
setting of the oven (220º C, 475º F) for only about a half hour, and even then the breasts
were a bit overcooked, though their skin was nowhere near crispy.
But the breasts were all we were
having for this dinner, so we carved them off and set them aside. Then we poured off some of the duck fat to
fry a panful of potato batons, and made a fresh cherry sauce thickened with pan
drippings and a tablespoon of oxford orange marmelade.
Finally the duck went into a
frying pan for a minute to reheat and crisp its skin, and the whole dish came
together. Both cherry and orange go
great with duck, and the two together made it extraordinary.
We made some broth with the
carcasses, so we have that set aside along with the duck legs and scraps for
future meals. It'll be duck soup! (A sign-off we prefer to the heartfelt advice
from the British Anatid Marketing Board: "Go Duck Yourself!")
No comments:
Post a Comment