This dish is perfect as an Autumnal – or virtually any other time – dinner. I cannot begin to tell you how seriously delicious the Orange and Lemon Sauce is, especially with something as robust as Duck. It’s tart, without being sour, and has a range of interesting flavours.
If you’re making this for a dinner party with friends, it ticks a whole load of boxes. For a start you can make the sauce a couple of days ahead, so that all it needs on the day is to be gently heated on the hob.
The duck is cooked gently on the hob, then moves to the oven – so no smoky, smelly kitchen – I mean, how great is that? I used to put off serving duck for that very reason.. well no more!!
Give this one a go, I really think you’ll be glad you did! 
EQUIPMENT:
- A medium-sized saucepan.
- Citrus zester.
- Juicer
- Measuring jug.
- A large ovenproof frying pan
- A pair of kitchen tongs.
INGREDIENTS: This recipe serves 4, but can be extended for more – just increase the sauce amounts.
- 4 x 175g (6oz) duck breasts, skin on.
- Zest and juice 1 lemon – remove the zest before juicing.
- 2 oranges, juice of 2, zest of 1
- 300mls hot chicken stock
- 3 tablespoons Marmalade – and how amazing would it be if it’s the Marmalade you made at the beginning of the year! https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/traditional-seville-orange-marmalade/
- 1 ⁄2-1 teaspoon Golden caster sugar – to taste.
METHOD:
- Take the duck out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. This takes about 15-20 minutes, so I make the sauce in this time.
- Pour the lemon and orange juice, plus the zests, into a medium-size pan and bring to the boil, and boil hard until it has reduced by three quarters.
- Add the hot stock and reduce again, this time by half.
- Add the Marmalade and stir it in.
- Add some sugar to taste – even with the marmalade added, it’s surprisingly bitter. Start by adding a teaspoonful of sugar, allow it to dissolve in and then taste. It should still be a little tart, but with a flavour of burnt orange. Don’t worry that there’s remarkably little of the sauce at the end of cooking – you only need about a tablespoonful per person.
- Preheat your oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6.
- Score the duck fat, without cutting through to the meat.
- Season the duck breasts and place them in the pan, skin-side down. Fry gently for 10 minutes, never letting the pan get too hot and draining the fat twice.
- Place the pan in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, still skin-side down.
- After the 10 minutes, carefully remove the pan from the oven (the handle will be very hot!) and transfer the duck to a warmed plate with the skin side facing upwards so it doesn’t soften as the duck rests.
- Turn off the oven, then put the plate on the lower shelf and leave the door slightly ajar. Leave it there for 10 minutes; this will give you slightly pink duck. I left it a couple of minutes extra for Mr Sat. Night as he doesn’t like his duck too pink.
Yes, I served my Potato Gratin, and it was delicious with it!
- Slice each duck breast on a board, and serve with the sauce spooned over.
NOTES:
- Serve with baby boiled potatoes, or my easy Potato Gratin https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/creamy-scalloped-potato-gratin-with-garlic-and-rosemary/ , and some steamed sprouting broccoli.
- For a dinner party, I’d really recommend making the sauce in advance – it’s just one less thing to worry about.Reheat gently, then keep it warm on a low heat.
I started writing down recipes in an old copybook when I was about 16. With 6 children at home, my Mother was always glad of a hand in the kitchen, and really allowed us to experiment - as long as we washed up afterwards, and left the kitchen immaculate! Having a tidy kitchen has followed me through my life, as has the habit of writing down my favourite recipes; except that these days I write them for my website, and add photographs when I can. The website really started when it occurred to me that my daughter might like to have these recipes when I've forgotten them. In my early days of cooking for family and friends, I used to phone my Mum all the time to ask her for the recipe for some of our favourite family dinners. She rarely had a recipe to hand - I think, like me, she made a lot of it up as she went along.. So welcome to Eating for Ireland - these are the recipes that my friends and family having been eating these past 40 years.. yes, I truly am ancient! They are tried and tested, and have worked for me for all that time - I have updated them as new ingredients became available - I really hope you'll find something that you can make into a family favourite of your own. You don't have to tell anyone where you found these great new dishes that you're serving up - it can be our little secret, but I'd really love it if you could give me a sneaky 'follow' on Facebook and Instagram.. So off you go - have a good rummage around, you're bound to find something new! My sincere thanks to all of you who have found a recipe that you liked and dropped me a line to tell me - I really do love to hear from you! Happy Cooking! Becks xx