Duck à l'Orange with Spices
Roasted duck legs, orange sauce spiced with Madagascar cinnamon and cloves. For 4 people, ready in about 1 hour 30 minutes.
- Prep 20 min
- Cooking 60 min
- Total 80 min
- Serves 4 servings
- Difficulty Medium
Our family grows Ceylon cinnamon and cloves in Vangaindrano, in the southeast of Madagascar. Ground to a powder, the cinnamon flavours the sauce; the whole cloves infuse their aroma into it before being removed.
Duck à l'orange is a classic French dish: pieces of roast duck, served with a sauce made from reduced, lightly caramelised orange juice. This recipe follows the same principle, spiced with cinnamon and cloves, for 4 people.
Preparation
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Preheat the oven to 200°C (gas mark 6 to 7). Lightly score the skin of the duck legs in a criss-cross pattern, season with salt and pepper.
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In an oven-proof casserole dish, brown the legs skin-side down over medium heat, with no added fat, until the skin is crisp, about 10 minutes. Set the legs aside and remove some of the melted fat.
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Sauté the sliced shallots in the casserole dish for 3 minutes, add the sugar and vinegar, and let it caramelise lightly.
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Add the orange zest and juice, the Vanille Désiré cinnamon powder, the Vanille Désiré cloves and the chicken stock. Bring to the boil.
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Put the duck legs back in the casserole dish, skin-side up, cover and bake for 45 minutes, then continue uncovered for 15 minutes so the skin becomes crisp again.
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Check the meat is fully cooked: it should reach at least 74°C inside the leg, and its juices should run clear.
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Remove the cloves, coat the legs with the reduced sauce and serve hot.
The little extra that changes everything
Brown the skin of the legs thoroughly before adding the sauce: that is what keeps it crisp despite the covered cooking that follows. Check the meat is fully cooked with a thermometer rather than by eye: it should reach at least 74°C and its juices should stay clear, never pink, following American food safety guidelines for poultry. Remove the whole cloves before serving: they flavour the sauce but are not meant to be eaten as they are. To find out more about these spices, read our page on cinnamon in savoury dishes and our page on cloves in savoury dishes. Another way of roasting poultry, this time with vanilla: our roast poultry with vanilla and a short jus. Our products for this recipe: Madagascar cinnamon · Madagascar cloves
