Recipe: Festive Whole Duck with a Cherry Sauce Recipe

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to 200°C.
• Wash the duck inside and out, and pat dry with a paper towel.
• Tie the legs firmly together with kitchen string.
• Rub skin of duck with coarsely ground salt and pepper.
• Place the duck on a wire rack over a roasting tray, and prick the skin all over. This will allow the fat to drain off.
• Cook in the middle shelf of the oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes, frequently basting duck with own juices.
• Remove the duck from the oven and set aside for 10 minutes to rest before carving.
• Cook the port (optional), orange juice, orange zest, soy sauce, lemon juice, ground ginger and cherries in a medium saucepan over a high heat. (Reserve 2 tablespoons of the juice from the canned cherries!)
• Bring to the boil, then reduce to a low heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.
• In a separate small bowl, mix the reserved cherry juice with the cornflour. Stir into the sauce and cook for a further minute until the sauce thickens.
• Serve the cherry sauce with the carved duck, boiled potatoes and young vegetables.