There’s nothing better than the smell of duck roasting in the oven—especially when it’s all day long. Our dog Mogly agrees and has been caught in front of the oven door with his nose madly sniffing the savoury air.

We enjoy duck in the fall and winter seasons, often making duck breasts with risotto and roasted red peppers. It’s also our Christmas Day meal. Fortunately we can buy duck at our local Friday market and this year we’re picking up our Christmas duck at the vendor’s farm.

I love when Ralph makes confit, as the meat melts in your mouth.

This recipe serves 4 to 6 depending on sides and size of the duck (bigger the better)

Ingredients:

• 1 large fresh duck 2+ kilos
• 1 cup duck or goose fat
• Large sprig rosemary
• 1 handful thyme sprigs
• 1 large carrot
• 1 medium onion
• 2 or 3 garlic cloves
• Salt and pepper QB
• Herbs du Provence

Instructions Step 1:

1. Preheat oven to 180c
2. Remove the breasts, legs and wings leaving skin on
3. Remove any skin and fat on the carcass and place them in an oven-proof pan
4. Place in the oven and render it down until all fat is rendered and the skin begins to crisp (about an hour)

Instructions Step 2:

1. Place the herbs in a roasting pan or casserole just big enough to fit the legs and wings in one layer
2. Add the fat and heat until liquid
3. Salt and pepper the legs and wings and place them together in the pan skin side up
4. Pour the rendered fat over the legs, they should be covered with only a bit or none of the skin above the fat
5. Bring to a soft boil or set aside until the oven is free

Instructions Step 3:

1. After draining the fat from the rendering pan and pouring it into the casserole, place the carcass and any organs and neck on the pan and return it to the oven
2. Bake for about an hour
3. Remove the giblets and skin for your dog or whoever likes them (the skin and liver are a delicacy!)
4. Pour any additional fat over the legs
5. Put the carcass and neck in a pot, add carrots, onion and garlic, cover with water and bring to a gentle boil to make stock
6. Reduce heat to 120 and put casserole in oven for at least 4 hours
7. Set the pan aside to use later for the breasts

Instructions Step 4:

1. About an hour before you want to eat remove the legs gently from the casserole (they will easily fall apart so be careful) and place on a rack to drain
2. Remove any meat from the wings and set aside- put the wings in the stock pot
3. Preheat the pan on the burner to medium
4. Prepare the breasts by salting the skin side and sprinkling salt, pepper and Herbs du Provence
5. Place them skin down in the pan
6. Allow the fat to render a bit and coat the bottom of the pan- no need to brown the skin

Instructions Step 5:

1. While the breasts are heating, place the legs skin side up on a backing pan
2. Flip the breasts when there is enough fat in the pan and place the pan on an upper rack in the oven
3. Place the legs beside them under the broiler
4. Turn on the broiler and watch the breasts and legs carefully for about 10-15 minutes until the skin is crispy and brown (they’ll splatter a bit, just don’t let them burn)
5. The breasts should be cooked to a medium/ medium rare in the same time
6. If the breasts seem undercooked and the skin is already crispy just lower the pan, turn off the oven and let them sit in the heated oven and hot pan for another 5 minutes
7. Remove the breasts to a cutting board to rest
8. Leave the legs in the oven to keep warm

Instructions Step 6:

1. Drain most of the fat from the breast pan and heat on the stovetop
2. Add about ½ cup of the stock to the pan and wisk it with the pan drippings
3. Taste and correct with salt and pepper
4. Wisk a tablespoon of cornstarch in 1/3 cup cold water
5. Wisk this into the pan to thicken
6. If you like a sweeter sauce for duck, add 3 or 4 tablespoons of cassis to the pan drippings before adding the stock and wisk until the alcohol has evaporated
7. Continue as before

Suggested sides:

• Sauerkraut
• Brussels sprouts
• Coleslaw
• Potato dumplings
• German Semmelknödel are brilliant!
• New or mashed potato
• Spaetzle (plain without cheese)
• Rice, wild or white

Wine:

We enjoyed this meal with a bottle of Meerlust 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon that we purchased from the estate during our recent trip to South Africa and brought back to Germany.