Roast Duck, With Cranberries
- 1 4- to 5-pound duckling
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 1 cup water
- Pinch of thyme
- 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 5 tablespoons sugar
- Reserve the gizzard, heart and neck of the duck and pull off as much fat as possible from the cavity.
- Reserve the fat.
- The liver of the duck will not be used in this recipe but it can be diced and sauteed with mushrooms as an hors d'ouevre or frozen for later use.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Lightly season the duck with salt and pepper and place it on a rack in a roasting pan.
- Prick the skin lightly all over and roast for one hour and 15 minutes.
- Prick the skin lightly from time to time while the duck is roasting.
- During the roasting time, heat one tablespoon of the duck fat in a heavy saucepan.
- Mince the gizzard and heart and add it to the pan along with the onion and celery.
- Saute the vegetables and duck innards until they are lightly browned.
- Add the garlic, one-half cup of the wine and stir to loosen any brown particles in the pan.
- Add the water, the neck of the duck and salt and pepper to taste.
- Simmer covered for 45 minutes.
- Strain this stock into a clean saucepan.
- Add the cranberries to the strained stock in the saucepan along with the vinegar and sugar.
- Cook over medium low heat until the cranberries soften and pop.
- Lower heat and simmer until the sauce has thickened somewhat.
- When the duck has finished roasting, remove it to a platter.
- Pour the fat out of the roasting pan (it can be reserved for another cooking purpose).
- Add the remaining 1/2 cup of red wine to the pan.
- Stir to scrape up any brown particles and pour this mixture into the sauce.
- Re-heat the sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Carve or quarter the duck and serve with the sauce.
duckling, salt, onion, celery, clove garlic, red wine, water, thyme, fresh cranberries, red wine vinegar, sugar
Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/9817 (may not work)