Orange Duck

 Orange Duck

It is a renowned preparation of French cuisine, although for some the orange duck originates from a recipe already present in the sixteenth century in some Florentine cookbooks, the "paparo all'arancia", and then brought to France by the cooks of the court of Caterina de' Medici. There are numerous variations of this dish, and it seems that it was once prepared exclusively with bitter oranges.

Servings: for 6 people

Ingredients : 

• 1 duck clean and deprived of entrails
• 3 shallots and carrot and onion
• celery 
• 6 oranges 
• bay leaf
• granulated sugar 
• white wine
• butter 
• cognac or olive oil 
• salt

Preparations:

1. Stuff the duck with an orange divided into quarters, the peeled shallots and 2 bay leaves. 
2. After salting and oiling it, tie it up and place it in a baking dish, then bake it.
3. After 30 minutes take it out of the oven and drain its fat. 
4. Prepare a diced with a carrot, an onion and a stalk of celery, add the zest of 2 oranges and arrange everything in the baking dish together with the glass of white wine. 
5. Bake the duck for another 30 minutes, finally turn it over and filter the cooking bottom. 
6. Caramelize 2 tablespoons of sugar with a knob of butter, and mix using a half orange stuck in a fork. 
7. Add to the caramel the juice of 2 oranges and a finger of cognac. 
8. Reduce the liquid always by stirring, then add the peels of 2 oranges cut into thin fillets (zeste) and the cooking bottom of the filtered duck. 
9. Let the sauce thicken and serve.