Roast duck with oranges, apples and thyme

Whole roast duck stuffed with orange, apples and thyme and glazed with orange and honey at the end, served with an orange sauce made from the roasting juices. A Christmas dinner for 4.

At a glance

• Serves 4
• Prep time: 25 min
• Cooking time: 140 min
• Total time: 165 min
• Calories: 647 kcal per serving
• Protein: 33 g
• Fat: 47 g
• Carbs: 22 g

Ingredients

• 2.5kg duck
• 2 unwaxed oranges
• 2 apples
• 1 onion
• 300ml chicken stock
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 1 tsp cornflour

Method

You’ll need: oven · casserole dish · chopping board · knife · sieve · wooden spoon

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (160 °C fan). Pat the duck dry and rub it inside and out with salt and pepper.
2. Cut one orange, the apples and the onion into pieces and stuff the duck with them and the thyme.
3. Place the duck breast-side up in a roasting tin, pour in the stock and roast for 2 hours at 180 °C. Baste it with the roasting juices every 30 min.
4. Squeeze the second orange and stir the juice with the honey. Brush the duck with half of it and roast for 15 min at 220 °C, until the skin is crisp.
5. Pour the roasting juices through a sieve, skim off the fat and bring the juices to the boil with the rest of the orange honey. Thicken with the cornflour mixed with a little water.
6. Leave the duck to rest for 10 min, carve it and serve with the orange sauce.

Good to know

One duck feeds exactly four and is ready in just over two hours. Orange and apples in the stuffing scent the whole house. The orange juice and honey glaze only goes on at the very end, so it doesn't burn.

Swaps

Honey → maple syrup. Oranges → mandarins or blood oranges. Thyme → mugwort. Duck → 1.5 kg chicken (roasting time 75 min).

Cooking tips

Prick the skin on the breast and legs a few times at a shallow angle, without piercing the meat, so the fat can run out. Only brush on the glaze in the last 15 min.

Storage

Leftovers 3 days in the fridge; freeze meat off the bone for up to 3 months.

Allergens

No gluten, milk, egg or nuts. Because of the honey in the glaze, not for babies under one year old. In pregnancy, cook the meat through (80 °C in the thickest part of the leg).

Dairy-free recipes