How to Cook Free Range Easy Carve Duck Stuffed With Winter Fruits

Method:

1. Remember to remove your bird out of the packaging, pat dry and bring to room temperature.
2. Preheat your oven to 210ºC fan assisted or 220°C for ovens without a fan.
3. Scald the duck with 1 litre of boiling water by resting on a wire tray over the sink and slowly pouring over the bird, being careful not to get any water in the stuffing.
4. Season the bird just prior to roasting.
5. Choose a large, heavy based roasting tray, ideally with deep sides and handles for easy movement.
6. Season with good quality fine sea salt.
7. Make a trivet by roughly chopping equal amounts of onion, carrot and celery (or my preferred choice of celeriac, the root of the celery) plus a bay leaf, sprig of thyme and a few black peppercorns.
8. Place the bird breast side up onto the trivet which should line the base of the tray.
9. Place in the centre of the oven and roast for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 180ºC and continue roasting for 25 minutes per 500g, reaching a core temperature of minimum 65°C.
10. Remove from the oven, put onto a clean tray and keep warm by covering with a sheet of tin foil. Rest for a minimum of 20 minutes before carving, leaving the roasted vegetables in the tray for the gravy.
11. For the gravy, make up 500ml of Essential Cuisine chicken stock, then deglaze the roasting tray with this stock stirring all the caramelised juices from the tray. Add 100ml of Madeira wine for a richer, full bodied sauce and reduce to a glossy finish before adding the stock. Next, pass through a fine sieve pushing all the juices from the vegetables into a clean saucepan. Bring to a simmer and thicken if required by whisking in a teaspoon of cornflour mixed with a little cold water and reduce until it becomes a rich, glossy gravy.