Duck à l’orange (Paleo)

Oranges and duck are two items that go wonderfully well together and this recipe is the classic orange
stuffed duck served with an orange sauce. Sauces are normally thickened with flour, but here we use some
duck fat to thicken it somewhat, but it’ll still be a runny, yet delicious sauce.

INGREDIENTS

Duck

• 1 duck, about 6 lbs;
• 1 orange, halved;
• 4 thyme sprigs;
• 4 marjoram sprigs;
• 2 parsley sprigs;
• 1 onion, cut into 8 slices;
• 1 cup chicken or duck stock;
• 1 carrot, chopped;
• 1 celery stalk, chopped;
• 1 tsp ground coriander;
• ½ tsp ground cumin;
• Sea salt and freshly ground
   black pepper to taste;
   Sauce
• 1/3 cup freshly pressed orange juice;
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar;
• About 4 tbsp chicken or duck
   stock;
• 1 tbsp orange zest;
• Sea salt and freshly ground
   black pepper to taste;


PREPARATION

1 Preheat your oven to 475 F.

2 In a bowl, combine the coriander and cumin and season to
taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper;

3 Sprinkle those spices over the duck and inside the cavity as
well.

4 Cut one half of the orange into 4 pieces and stuff the duck’s
cavity with it as well as 4 slices of the onion.

5 Place the rest of the onion as well as the carrot and celery in
a roasting pan.

6 Place the stuffed duck on top of the vegetables and place in
the preheated oven to roast for 30 minutes.

7 Combine the juice of the remaining orange half with the
stock, pour the mixture over the duck and reduce the heat to
350 F.

8 Cook for another 1 ¼ hours, until an instant read thermometer indicates 170 F in the thigh.

9 When cooked, turn on your broiler and place the duck at
about 4 inches from it for 4 minutes, until the skin is nice and
brown.

10 Transfer the duck to a cutting board to rest for 15 minutes
while you prepare the sauce.

11 Remove the cooked vegetables from the pan, strain the pan
juices to remove any lumps and skim off some of the fat that
you can keep to cook other meals.

12 Add enough stock to obtain 1 cup of liquid and pour into a
small saucepan with the orange juice, apple cider vinegar
and orange zest.

13 Bring to a simmer, season to taste and let simmer for about 5
minutes, until it has somewhat thickened.

14 Now add back about 1 tablespoon of the skimmed off duck
fat to thicken the sauce a bit more if needed.

15 Carve the duck and serve with the orange sauce.