Our wedding anniversary is coming up and I've promised Duck a la Orange for 15 years. Recipes? I've a butcher to order a fresh quack-quack.

My husband recently had a heart attack but suffered almost no damage to his heart. He is walking and involved in cardiac rehab...Fat and salt are, for once, not the issue here. He loves the idea of my making the orange sauce from our navels ripe on our tree.

Lizthechef
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5 Comments

amysarah
amysarah March 9, 2011
My mom made a delicious duck with green peppercorns and another with green grapes....and the accompaniment was always wild rice - so, you're not alone betteirene. (Actually, other than e.g., a confit, with potatoes cooked in the rendered fat, I always thought of rice as the classic pairing with duck.)
 
betteirene
betteirene March 9, 2011
How scary, I'm sure, but how lucky it turned out so well. May you have many more happy anniversaries in your future!

The very first time I cooked a duck, I followed Julia's detailed recipe. It was marvelous, and the leftovers sure impressed the heck out of my mother-in-law. It's a two-day recipe, however, and I think to make it only when I have a stay-at-home vacation. I substitute cornstarch for the arrowroot and I use lemon juice instead of the bitters I never have on hand. I use Cointreau and Grand Marnier interchangeably.

This recipe calls for less hands-on time than Julia's. I cook the duck breast longer (more on the medium-well side), and I leave out the thyme and peppercorns so that it's not so herb-y, and I sub Cointreau for the sherry vinegar.
http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Duck-a-l-Orange

I think I'm the only person in the world who serves duck with rice instead of potatoes as suggested accompaniment.
 
mrslarkin
mrslarkin March 8, 2011
I don't have an answer for you, but just wanted to say Happy Anniversary to you both! That tree almost makes me want to move to California. :)
 
Greenstuff
Greenstuff March 8, 2011
So nice to have a happy occasion, and your tree looks beautiful. The Julia Child recipe that drbabs found for you looks pretty good to me. Lots of times, the orange sauce is too sweet, but this one, with the port looks really good. When you turn the heat down, you might want to turn it down a bit lower and plan on cooking it longer. I'm glad your butcher is getting you a fresh one, because that will make all the difference. Happy anniversary!
 
drbabs
drbabs March 8, 2011
I have never made duck a l'orange, but I did find Julia Child's recipe for you:
http://www.cyber-kitchen.com/ubbs/archive/POULTRY/Duck_Roasted_w_Orange_Sauce_Canard_a_lorange.html

I'm so happy that Larry is on the mend. Happy Anniversary! (And that is one gorgeous tree you have there!)
 
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