by Liz Henderson, Margaret River MamaBake

A classic recipe for the Season!

Ingredients:

Serves 8

The duck:

8 duck fillets

2-3 oranges

6 red shallots cut finely

2 Bay leaves

100 g butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Oil for frying

Orange Sauce:

150 g sugar

125 ml red wine vinegar

6 oranges (zest and juice)

1 lemon (juice only)

250 ml Grand Marnier

1/2 litre chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Marinade the fillets for a couple of hours in the juice of 2-3 oranges, the sliced shallots and 2 bay leaves. Remove filets from marinade, pad dry and place into a large casserole. Brown the duck fillets slowly in oil and butter and once done cover with the lid and place into oven for 60 minutes at 180°C.

Meanwhile prepare the sauce:

Peel finely 4-6 oranges and juice them.
To blanch the zest: for this you need to fill a saucepan with cold water and bring the water and zest to the boil. Do this three times to get rid of the bitterness of the oranges.

In another saucepan, reduce the sugar and the vinegar until it becomes caramelized. Add the orange juice, the lemon juice and the Grand Marnier.

Then add the stock, the oil and sauce leftover from the cooked duck, salt and pepper. Whisk well. Let it simmer for 5-10 minutes and check the seasoning. Once thick (you can add a bit of corn flour if you like, I don’t), strain the sauce and add the blanched orange zest.

Garnish: Peel and slice a couple of oranges and heat up the slices in the sauce just before serving. Serve the sauce on top of ducks, very yummy with crispy potatoes.