Lovely Honey Roast Duck

Having a roast duck recipe to knock their socks off with will certainly put a smile on anyone’s face.

The first time I cooked a duck I made a big mistake, nobody had ever taught me how to roast a duck and I cooked it like a chicken.

Big mistake, because it is quite a greasy bird our plates were swimming in grease and it wasn’t pleasant!

Whether you just wish to serve the family a treat or perhaps impress the in-laws this roast duck recipe is one to salivate over.

When roasting your duck whole place it upside down on a dripping tray so that the fat which can be excessive will drip into your roasting tray.

This is the mistake I made, I didn’t cook it breast side down.

You will have a perfect honey roast duck by the time you have finished but you must prepare this best roast duck recipe well before you start to cook it.

Remove all the giblets from inside and wahs both the inside and outside of the duck with cold running water. Drain out the excess water and pat the skin dry with paper towels.

Using a very sharp kitchen knife cut into the breast skin across the top then turn it around and do it the other way. You will have diamond shaped patterns all over.

Place it breast side down on your dripping tray which you place over your roasting pan.

Slow roast your medium sized duck on the middle shelf of a medium hot oven Gas mark 3/ 325 C/ 170F for one and a half hours.

Your honey roast duck is getting closer and your roasting pan will be swimming with grease which isn’t very pleasant. I dispose of this by allowing it to go hard and placing it in a food recycling bag.

Now it is fine to turn your roast duck so that it is sitting right way up on your drip tray. Turn the oven up to Gas 6 / 400C/ 200F and roast for a further half hour to an hour.

A slightly bigger duck will take a little longer but you’ll have great crispy skin.

To test if your duck is ready to eat, lift the skin a little with a knife and press on the flesh underneath. If it feels quite soft, cook again for a further 5 - 10 minutes or so.

Your roast duck needs to feel, firm but not tough. It will look a little darker than when you first started to cook it but ideally still regain a hint of pink.

You can use a whole duck freshly prepared or duck breasts which are a little easier to cook but you must be careful not to over-cook the duck because it should be a nice pink but not raw color when ready to serve.

Now when I cook my honey roast duck I prefer to use just the breasts of duck and start the cooking process in a griddle pan.

Place the duck breasts skin side down into your griddle pan and put a heavy lid on top to press them down. This sears the fat on the skin and you can discard this as you won’t need it.

Assuming you are using duck breasts to make your honey roast duck, turn them over breast side up and place these directly into a roasting tin.

You won’t have a pan swimming in grease this way, cook the duck breasts for approximately half an hour at Gas mark 4/ 350C/ 180F and you have the best roast duck recipe ever.

Using a blender add the grated rind and juice of four large oranges, two tbsp of honey and six fresh figs and blitz them together until smooth.

Roast duck with orange sauce is lovely and adding the figs makes it extra special.

Pour the sauce into a saucepan and blend in two tsp of cornflour. Heat gently stirring all the time until the sauce thickens.

Remove any excess grease from your roasting pan and pour your sauce over your duck. Return to the oven and cook for a further five minutes.

You now have your honey roast duck and your only dilemma is what to serve it with.

Traditional crispy roast potatoes and your favorite vegetables are of course perfect but my own family prefers creamy mashed potatoes which are just right for soaking up the juices from our honey roast duck

These are our favorite roast duck recipes, what are yours? Send them in and share them around with us. Salivating at the prospect!