How to make Xmas duck luxurious...

[Zevitevitchofcwsmas]

Having duck...

What's the best accompaniments, gravey... Orange source? Red cabbage?

Duck is pretty luxurious by itself.

It works v well with the standard Christmas accompaniments of cranberry sauce, bread sauce and definitely red cabbage. And roast potatoes in the lovely duck fat.

I usually do duck as my Christmas dinner as 1. everyone hates turkey and 2. it is sort of Scandinavian which are my roots.

I then do a prune and apple stuffing - literally just some chopped up prunes and apples shoved in and try not to forget about them.

This is also my excuse to do caramelised potatoes but not many as they are v rich and a little goes a long way.

nordicfoodliving.com/danish-sugar-browned-potatoe/

I'm passionate about bread source 😂, I wonder if that would work with orange source? And what sort of gravy. Really like the the sound of prune and apple stuffing...

A diamond necklace?

Willow I'm loving the idea of draping a diamond necklace around a roasted duck served on platter surrounded by red cabbage, duck fat roasted pots... Pigs in blankets, devil's on horse back, then pouring sticky orange source all over the duck and carelessly over the necklace... Twinkling in candle light and sparkly fairy lights

Haha I really laughed at that :)

Good luck with your duck!

Port gravy will go well with duck, as will apple sauce and bread sauce.

Leftovers in the evening with hoisin, spring onions, cucumber and Chinese pancakes with prawn crackers on the side.

Pommes dauphinois and red cabbage cooked with onions and apples (Delia recipe).

I would do bread sauce with duck - we have goose for Christmas dinner, which is a similar meat to duck, and the bread sauce works just fine with it (I couldn’t have Christmas without bread sauce).

FFS I must stay off the sloe gin on a weekday. I read this as Christmas dick.

I use a brilliant Nigel Slater recipe, cook duck for 30 mins, pour off fat, put 3 halved clementines/tangerines plus 6 star anise under it, add a teacup of water, then slather the skin with marmalade and cook ‘til done. The marmalade should be almost crispy.

I then squadge the clementines with port and stock to make gravy.

Would def work with bread sauce, what bird doesn’t? And red cabbage.

I also cook carrots in stock, use that stock for the gravy, then finish carrots in butter and honey.

Mmmmmm

We have had goose with duck source but never duck.

What type of gravey base though... Turkey? Beef?

I like a lux brought fresh packet as a base then add stuff to it. Would anyone use cointreau

I would run a bath. Put a few ice cubes in it, something that could act as a ladder so Daffy can come and go as they please, some pondweed (use Dill if nothing else in the larder), and perhaps some croutons lightly fried in a hobby oil for it to nibble on.

Hobby oil = anchovy oil, ffs

We usually have a deboned stuffed duck. Sometimes bought ready stuffed, though the last few years nearly all supermarkets have been doing cherry stuffing which I dont like.

I've deboned myself and doesn't take too long though you need to be sober

We usually have it with all the usual trimmings, Dauphinoise potaoes are my favourite

I've deboned myself

Bet that was tricky!

For the gravy I’d use a good chicken stock, if bought, I’d use at least 2 pouches(Waitrose?).

Meat juices, deglaze the pan with loads of port, I’ve never used Cointreau, but I’d mix with port, actually sounds rather nice. I always add a good slodge of a fruit jelly, usually redcurrant or damson, but if you’re going the orange route use some strained marmalade.

Then reduce, reduce and reduce. Don’t add flour. You’ll get a lovely sauce.