Ducks crossing here.

I’m done with duck. Or am I?

Perfectly Cooked Crispy Duck with Spiced Plum Chutney

Last night I cooked the last duck recipe in Jamie (and would you believe that all nine remaining recipes, bar one, are fish or seafood. How did I let this happen? So much for planning!). It was a duck dinner for Caro’s birthday.

Firstly I made some sage salt – sage leaves and salt smashed together in the pestle and mortar. Then I rubbed that all over the duck and stuffed it with four quarters of an orange.

I sat the duck, breast down, on a bed of roughly chopped vegies – carrots, onion, celery & smashed garlic cloves – then popped it in a moderate oven for 2 hours, turning after an hour, so the skin crisped up on both sides.

Meanwhile, I reheated the chutney which I’d made the night before. The chutney has a story. Plums are a Summer fruit. Slight problem in the middle of Winter. No drama. Use tinned plums. Except I forgot to buy tinned plums. Thinking on my feet. I have some homemade plum chutney in my fridge! So I followed the first part of Jamie’s recipe & brought sugar and water to the boil, added cinnamon and a star anise, some orange rind and the jar of chutney. I let it simmer down and infuse with the star anise, then reheated on the night.

The duck came out of the oven to some very excited oohs and aahs. Dad carved it up and we served it with Scotch Stovies (http://oneyearonecookbook.blogspot.com/2010/01/summer-dreams-ripped-at-seams.html), peas and the plum chutney.

So look, I’ll be straight with you. You know how I feel about duck. Not a fan. And yet, here I am, after two duck dinners in a week and I am beginning to think that maybe I do like duck.

See?

So I’m going to make a promise. Once I’m done with my experiment with Jamie, I am going to eat duck again. It might not be straight away (that spot is reserved for classic that I’ve been longing for, like spaghetti Bolognese, beef stroganoff and a simple curry), but it will happen and I will be very interested in the verdict. Right now, I am stuck on duck and need to get off the fence.

Xx