You can use any type of duck that you can find in your local supermarket or butche. I like to use the Rohan duck, which is exclusively available at D’Artagnan. It is raised without antibiotics or hormones in open barns, and is the company’s proprietary hybrid that includes the Heritage Mallard and Pekin duck breeds. With a flavor reminiscent of a heritage-breed duck from France, the juicy, tender, rose-colored meat and mild taste make the Rohan™ Duck unique.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 quart fresh-squeezed orange juice, or bottled
One 12-ounce jar orange marmalade, reserving  3 tablespoons for basting
½ cup honey
1 D’Artagnan Rohan Duck, 5 to 6 pounds
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 small red onion
3 garlic cloves
1 small lemon
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 thin-skinned navel orange, washed and cut into thin slices
½ cup Grand Marnier

Directions:

Remove the duck from the packaging and rinse the duck inside and out with cold water, reserving the neck and liver, if desired. Trim the excess fat and skin.

Combine orange juice, marmalade, and honey in a bowl  or casserole dish, deep enough to hold duck. Add duck, and drizzle the marinade over the duck, cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Make sure you turn the duck once or twice if marinade doesn’t cover it completely.

The NEXT day,

Preheat oven to 375 ° F.

Remove duck from marinade, reserving marinade.

Using a fork, prick duck skin all over with a fork, but DO NOT pierce the flesh. Season inside and out with salt and pepper.  Slice the small red onion, break the garlic cloves in half and slice the small lemon in half and place the onion, garlic and lemon in the cavity of the duck. Using kitchen twine, truss the duck and place breast  side up on a rack in a roasting pan. If you do not have a rack for you pan, use three or four four ribs of celery, laying them in a row and set the duck on top of the celery “rack”.  If you are using a Granite Ware Enameled Dutch oven to roast your duck, be sure to cover the duck with the lid provided.  Transfer the roasting pan to oven and roast the duck. After 10 minutes, turn heat down to 350°F and roast for 1 ½ hours.

Once duck has rendered some fat, spoon 2 about tablespoons of it into a saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat, add onion, and sauté until tender and light brown, 5 to 6 minutes stirring occasionally. Pour in reserved marinade and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring up any browned bits. Adjust heat to medium and reduce liquid until thickened, 20 to 25 minutes. Pour the sauce into an electric blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Pour through a strainer into a saucepan and add the Grand Marnier and set aside.

When duck has roasted for 1 ½ hours, remove pan from oven and turn heat down to 325°F. Discard all but a little fat from roasting pan, and lay orange slices over bottom of pan.  Return the duck, placing it over the orange slices. Using a pastry brush, baste the duck with the sauce. Return the pan to oven and cook until slices begin to brown about 10 minutes.  Brush a final coat of orange marmalade all over the duck. Cover with the lid if using a roaster, Turn off the oven and let the duck stand for 10 minutes.

Remove the duck from the pan and place on a craving board and allow to rest for at least 10-15 minutes before cutting or craving.

To serve for 2: Cut duck in half using sharp scissors or poultry shears. Remove backbone by cutting along one side and then the other, then cut along breastbone. For 4: Cut each half into breast and leg sections.

Place each duck portion on a warm plate. For complete meal, serve with a generous mound of rice next to it, lay orange slices around it,  and a green vegetable like green beans or steamed asparagus, or roasted Brussels sprouts, and ladle on sauce.

Cook’s Notes:

If you don’t have any Grand Marnier on hand,  Cointreau or triple sec are suitable substitutes.

I like to roast my duck in a Granite Ware Enameled Dutch Oven, that I inherited from my Grandmother. I don’t even know if they still make them or not. For me, using this type of cookware always produced a moist bird, whether you are roasting a duck, a chicken or a turkey. You can perfectly roast your duck without one, using a shallow roasting pan and that is perfectly fine.

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