Roasted Duck with Port Cranberry Sauce

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Take the giblet bag out of the duck and discard. Then set the duck breast side up on a wire rack inside a roasting pan. Prick the skin of the fatty part of the duck, which is the breast and the top of the legs with a sharp skewer. Boil a whole kettle of water and pour it all over the duck. Let it dry for 20-30 minutes. Then pour the water out of the pan and pat the duck dry with a paper towel. Rub the bird with the coarse salt all over, then slice the garlic bulb in half exposing the cloves and put in the cavity of the duck. Then do the same with the mandarin orange.

Step 2

Roast in the preheated oven for 1 hour and 45 minutes if the duck is the same weight as the one in the recipe. If not adjust the timing according to its weight. Allow for 20 minutes per each pound plus 10 minutes. The internal temperature of the duck breast should be at least 74C/165F and the juices should run clear if pierced with a knife.

Step 3

While the duck is in the oven make the port cranberry sauce. In a medium pot combine the cranberries, sugar, water, juice and zest of one mandarin orange or clementine. Boil on medium heat until the cranberries pop, then mash them lightly directly in the pot with the pack of a spoon and boil for 5 minutes longer.

Step 4

Add port or marsala wine and cook for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and cool completely. The sauce will thicken as it cools and will get even thicker when refrigerated.

Step 5

Remove the duck from oven and let it rest for 20- 30 minutes before carving.