Orange Sauce for Duck
With this recipe, I have chosen to list it with the sauces rather than as a meat dish as how you choose to cook the duck is up to you, and have to say I am clearly out of step with other modern-day chefs, who choose to serve duck pink, or undercooked. My reluctance to engage in this practice goes back to my early years when training as a young comme chef, in those days we always cooked duck thoroughly. Also, it is my opinion that well-cooked duck tastes better, duck is a very fatty meat which I feel benefit’s from long slow cooking, look at how the Chinese cook it especially when making Peking Duck.
For me undercooked duck is a reasonably modern trend perpetuated by TV’s chefs. However, putting my views on the matter to one side Duck al Orange is truly a classic dish that is impressive and always fashionable, to a point where it could be considered as sophisticated as it is iconic, however you cook your duck this sauce will do it justice, so enjoy…! I have served my Orange sauce with whole roast duck cut into quarters.

Servings |
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- 800 grams Caster Sugar
- 16 tbsp Water
- 12 Oranges Zest Only
- 1 litre Orange Juice
- 1 Litre Duck Stock or Chicken Stock
- 600 grams Butter
- 12 Oranges The segments only
Ingredients
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- Boil the sugar and water, until the syrup caramelizes slightly and turns a golden brown.
- Remove from the heat and carefully add the Orange juice and Chicken Stock whisking vigorously, but take care the caramel will bubble fiercely as it is extremely hot.
- Add the orange zest which has been cut into very thin shreds
- Return to the heat and simmer, as the sauce simmers slowly whisk in the knobs of butter little as a time creating a shinny smooth sauce, if you add the butter to fast the sauce will not thicken.
- Just before pouring the sauce over the duck add the orange segments to the sauce and bring just to the boil for a moment then pour over the cooked Duck.
- Garnish with sliced orange half cherries and chopped parsley.