Classic Duck a l’Orange

If you’ve read any of our blog, you’ll know we love duck. In fact, one of our first adventures in the kitchen was attempting Julia Child’s classic version of Duck a la Orange. It was a challenge. We wanted to try it again so this time, we opted for Emeril Lagasse’s recipe. It was still a challenge and quite an adventure, but it turned out so well. Emeril’s version is far less involved than Julia’s, however, it’s still a classic French recipe so there are quite a few steps.

Jump to Recipe

This does not seem particularly hard at the onset but adventure is in the details. It’s good to make during the winter months as you can find so many great varieties of oranges. First squeeze the oranges as that will be the base of the sauce. Then take the orange peels and cut up.

Stuff the Duck

Salt and pepper the duck all around. Then stuff the orange peels into the duck.

Add water the bottom of a large roasting pan. Place the duck on a rack in the pan and put in the pre-heated oven.

Start off with a very hot oven, about 500 degrees. Cook the duck uncovered for 30 minutes to achieve a nice golden brown. Then reduce the heat. The duck will roast about 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees. If using a thermometer, it should read 170 to consider the duck fully cooked. Remove the rack and place the duck back into the roasting pan.

While the duck is in the oven, start the orange sauce. Place the fresh orange juice, sugar and orange zest in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce to abut 3/4 cup. This will really intensify the flavors of the orange.

Add the bitters to the orange sauce and remove from heat. Researching, I determined that there is no substitute for Peychaud Bitters, so we went ahead and purchased them. They were about $5 and will keep for a long time.

In a separate saucepan heat the duck (or chicken) stock bringing to a boil. Add to the orange mixture to complete this step of the sauce. (As mentioned this was quite the cooking adventure, with lots of steps!)

Back to the duck, warm the roasting pan over two burners. If there are drippings from the duck, leave in the pan. Pour in the Grand Marnier and let the alcohol burn off, whisking along the way.

Pour the orange sauce into the roasting pan.

Place the corn starch and water into a small container with an air tight lid. Shake until well mixed. Drizzle into the sauce just a little at a time. You will not use all of it. Continue to whisk until the sauce reaches the desired thickness. Brush the top of the duck with some of the sauce.

Look at that golden brown! Just before carving remove the oranges from the inside of the duck.

Carve and serve with orange slices on the side. There should be enough sauce to serve in a pitcher along with the duck to drizzle over the top. If you love the dark meat from duck and the sweetness of an orange sauce, this is a great recipe to try!

Yield: 4-6

Author: Emeril Lagasse

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Classic Duck a l'Orange

This recipe from Emeril Lagasse is a delicious take on the classic French dish.

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 2 HourTotal time: 2 H & 30 M

Ingredients

• 2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, about 6 oranges
• One 5-pound Pekin duck, cleaned, with innards, wing tips and excess fat removed
• Zest of 2 oranges
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon Peychaud Bitters
• 2 cups duck or chicken stock
• 1 cup Grand Marnier liqueur
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons cold water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 500º F
2. Roughly chop the orange rinds after juicing. Salt and pepper the duck on all sides. Place the oranges in the cleaned duck cavity. Place the stuffed duck on a baking rack inside a roasting pan with 1/2-inch of water. Bake until skin turns golden brown and lightly crisped, about 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350º F and continue cooking until duck reaches an internal temperature of 170ºF about 1 1/2 hours.
3. While the duck is cooking, in a medium heavy saucepan combine the orange juice, zest and sugar over medium high heat and reduce nearly 3/4 in volume, about 3/4 cup. Add Peychaud Bitters to orange juice mixture and set aside.
4. Place duck (or chicken) stock in a clean saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add hot stock to reduced orange mixture and continue to simmer over medium low heat for 10 minutes to make sauce.
5. Remove duck and the rack from the roasting pan and discard drippings from the bottom of pan. Return duck to roasting pan and set over 2 burners over medium high heat.
6. Add Grand Marnier to the pan and cook off the alcohol, scraping the pan continuously with a large wooden spoon. Add the orange sauce to the roasting pan along with the corn starch/water mixture and cook 1 to 2 minutes until thickened.
7. Brush the duck with the sauce, then remove duck from the pan and discard orange rinds in cavity.
8. Place the duck on a serving platter and let sit 10 minutes before carving. Add the pan sauce to a gravy boat and serve with the carved duck. Enjoy!