People are often afraid to cook duck. This one isn’t that hard. It’s inspired by Jamie Oliver and I tweaked the juice with Cherry Shiraz Preserve

The average guide to cooking duck is 20 minutes for each pound at 350F. Scoring a duck is important because it allows all that extra fat to run out and into your pan. That’s no worry, because you will take it out half way through, drain the fat and save it in a nice mason jar with your favourite herb (I added poultry seasoning to my jar…but fresh rosemary sprigs would be great). Use the fat anytime when frying onions or add to cholent.

Ingredients:

Duck:

One duck (4-5 pounds)

2 tsp Chinese 5 Spice

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

Dry contents of 1 orange pekoe tea bag

Olive oil

Cherry Shiraz Gravy:

1 jar Tishbi Cherry Shiraz Preserves

Three cloves garlic

Three small red onions cut in quarters

2 medium carrots cut in 3 inch long chunks

1 cup steeped orange pekoe tea (Note: throw out the bag when done and use the tea)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350F

Score the top of your duck in a cross cross fashion with a sharp knife. Drizzle some olive oil on top. Mix all spices including tea leaves and rub all over duck (including legs, wings and underneath) It should look like this:

Place into 9×13″ pan and pop it into the oven uncovered for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 350F

Take out and drain all the duck fat into a mason jar as described above. Add garlic, onions and carrots to the bottom of the pan making sure they are covered with a bit of duck juice. Turn duck over with breast down this time placing it on top of the veggies and re-insert duck into oven for 45 minutes. For 5 lb duck add 15 minutes.

Take the duck out and let it sit.

Cherry Shiraz Gravy:

1 7.7 oz jar Tishbi Cherry Shiraz Preserves

1 cup steeped orange pekoe tea

Cooked onions, garlic and carrots from duck

3 tsp flour

1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger

Instructions:

Remove duck from pan and set it onto a clean platter or plate, leaving cooked veggies in the bottom. Place pan onto your stove element.

(Transfer veggie mixture to a stove top skillet if you can not place your pan directly on your element)

Sprinkle flour around pan and blend it with veggies

Add tea, Tishbi Cherry Shiraz Preserves and ginger to pan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes. This will give you a chunky gravy.

Serve your duck on a board. It’s not something you daintily slice. You will tear it apart with two forks and dip the pieces in the gravy. (You can always tear the pieces off the duck and put it in a serving bowl, mixing it with the gravy).

This is a great Friday night meal. Serves 4. The average kosher duck is $25 and we had pieces left over for our Shabbos day meal.

You can find “Tishbi’s Cherry Shiraz Preserve” at Fruit of the Land Store in Toronto. It’s worth it for this recipe. When I opened the jar, the smell was like heaven. The mix of cherries and Shiraz added the right flavour to this spicy duck. It blends with the ginger and garlic to give everything a extra kick. (#sponsored)

Let me know if you have any questions

Chaya