Juicy and tender meat, crispy skin and a sticky glaze that smells just so wintery and festive! This roast duck and gravy recipe are fantastic for Christmas! Accompany this with some of my other festive specials, such as my rosemary and garlic roast potatoes and my spiced cauliflower cheese!

Christmas Dinner in the UK

This recipe is great any time of the year, however it really is best at Christmas as a centrepiece. The recipe has been designed for this and so this article really ought to talk about Christmas centrepieces in general. In the UK, Christmas dinner is a massive occasion! It’s one of the few meals a year where people really go crazy on the effort (and cost)! The main protein is usually the focus of this. Turkey has been the classic option since the Victorian times, but its losing it’s popularity. Only aroud 50% of households now have turkey on the table at Christmas. People are now looking for alternatives!

I grew up in a non-turkey household. My dad would buy and prepare a goose every year. This is delicious and truly special, but expensive and very large. Other popular options in UK households include gammon, beef and lamb joints. I think there is something special about a roasted bird though. It just looks better in the middle of the table and offers the most variety of meat, with dark meat legs and lighter meat breasts. A chicken seems to regular, so I now find myself gravitating towards a duck.

Roast Duck as a Fetive Option

Duck is a fatty and gamey bird, like a goose, but comes in at a far more attractive price point. A duck is also much smaller than a goose or turkey, so is a much better option if cooking for only 4 or 5 people. A roast duck carries spices very well, and pairs excellently with dark fruity flavours such as cranberry or red wine. This makes it really ideal for a Christmas meat option. It pairs best with earthy spices, like cinnamon, cloves etc, which are fantastic festive flavours.

As a fatty bird, it is also much more forgiving to overcooking. All in all, I would recommend a duck to anyone looking to make a Christmas dinner, particularly for the first time!

My Recipe

This recipe is bursting with festive flavours, however I prefer to do most of the roasting quite plain. I salt the duck all over, and in the cavity, but roast it with no other spices. I just stuff it with a fresh orage and some fresh rosemary and thyme. Most of the flavour in this is in the glaze.

The glaze is made with freshly juiced orange and honey, and heightened with balsamic vinegar, a few cloves and a cinnamon stick. This produces a fragrant an exciting glaze, but interestingly it isn’t too sweet! A lot of people will look at this recipe and worry about a cloying and overly sweet glaze. This doesn’t happen. The acidity in the orange and balsamic hep prevent this, but the glaze is also a fairly thin coating. It does bring plenty of festive flavour though.

There are a couple of tips to roasting a duck. Firstly, you need to take the duck out of it’s packaging and leave it in the fridge overnight. This is a really important step as it allows the skin of the duck to dry out a bit. One of the joys of roasted duck is the crispy skin, and you won’t get that without this step. Secondly, before you roast it, you want to score the skin. This allows the fat to render out and almost baste itself. Again, this is a key step for crispy skin!

Like my roast chicken, I roast this duck over a bed of mixed vegetables. They soak up all the fat and juices and create a fantastic base for an award winning gravy. Don’t skip this step, you’ll regret it! Talking of the duck fat, this will produce plenty. Keep a jar on hand to pour this into. Duck fat is a fabulous option for roasting potatoes, so make sure to save this!

Roast Duck with an Orange & Honey Glaze

Juicy and tender meat, crispy skin and a sticky glaze that smells just so wintery and festive! This roast duck and gravy recipe are fantastic for Christmas!

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Resting Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Servings: 4 people

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: British, European

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

For the Roast

• 1 Duck Approximatly 1.6-2kg
• 1 Orange
• 4 sprigs Rosemary
• 1 bunch Thyme
• 1 Yellow Onion Large
• 2 Carrots
• 2 sticks Celery
• 5 cloves Garlic

For the Glaze

• 1 Orange Juiced
• 5 tbsp Honey
• 1.5 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• 3 Cloves

For the Gravy

• 125 ml Red Wine
• 500 ml Chicken Stock
• 3 tbsp Plain Flour
• 3 sprigs Rosemary
• 1 bunch Thyme
• 2 Bay Leaves

Method

 

Roasting the Duck

1. Take your duck out of the packaging the dady before and leave it uncovered in the fridge overnight.
2. Heat your oven to 170°C.
3. Salt the duck all over and in the cavity. Score the skin diagonally across the breast with a sharp knife, being careful not to cut into the meat.
4. Roughly chop the onion, carrot and celery and crish the garlic cloves with the skin on. Scatter into a baking tray and set the duck on top on a rack, breast side up.
5. Cut an orange in half and stuff it into the duck cavity with the rosemary and thyme.
6. Place the duck into the oven and roast for 1 hour.
7. Flip the duck and roast for another 40 minutes, breast side down. Prepare the glaze while it roasts (see below).
8. Remove from the oven and turn the temperature up to 200°C. Brush the duck with the glaze. Place into the oven for 15 minutes. Remove, glaze again and roast for a final 15 minutes. Remove and rest while you make the gravy.

Making the Glaze

1. Juice the orange directly into a small pan and add the honey. Mix well to combine.
2. Heat to a medium low heat. Once the mixture starts to simmer slightly, add the cinnamon stick and cloves.
3. Cook graually until the flavours infuse and the glaze thickens up and becomes sticky. Keep over a low heat until needed, to stop it from cooling and hardening.

Making the Gravy

1. Drain most of the excess fat from the roasting tray into a jar and set aside to cool and keep.
2. Put the roasting tray with the vegetables till in over a medium heat.
3. Sprinke the flower over the vegetabes and stir to mix with a wooden spoon. Cook off for 2-3 minutes.
4. Pour the wine in and mix thoroughly to deglaze the tray and mix in with the flour. Cook for 5 minutes until the alcohol has cooked off.
5. Pour in the chicken stock and add the thyme, rosemary and bay leaves. Cook steadily, reducing to a rich, thick gravy that coats a spoon. Season to taste and strain into a gravy boat or jug.