Canard à l’Orange

Instructions

1. 1
   To get things started, if using a whole duck, clean it thoroughly, pat the skin completely dry inside and out with paper towels, and truss it tightly with kitchen twine. If using pieces (as seen in the image), score the fatty skin in a crosshatch pattern without cutting into the meat to help the fat render out.
2. 2
   Season the duck generously with fine salt and cracked black pepper on all sides.
3. 3
   Place the duck in a roasting pan and bake at 180°C (350°F) for about 1 hour and 15 minutes (turning a whole duck halfway through) until the skin is beautifully crispy and deeply golden. Periodically ladle out the rendered duck fat from the pan and save it for future roasting.
4. 4
   While the duck cooks, use a vegetable peeler to remove the bright orange peel (avoiding the bitter white pith) from two oranges. Cut the peel into very fine strips (julienne), blanch them in boiling water for 2 minutes to remove bitterness, drain, and set aside.
5. 5
   Squeeze the juice from those two blanched oranges and the single lemon. Set the combined juice aside.
6. 6
   To build the traditional gastrique sauce base, combine the sugar and white wine vinegar in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat. Allow it to melt and turn into a light, amber-colored caramel without stirring.
7. 7
   Carefully pour the citrus juice into the caramel (it will sputter up fiercely). Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until any hardened caramel completely dissolves back into the liquid.
8. 8
   Pour in the rich duck or veal stock and throw in the blanched orange zest strips. Let the sauce simmer gently and reduce by half for about 15 minutes, until it becomes wonderfully glossy and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
9. 9
   Pour in the Grand Marnier liqueur and let it simmer for 2 additional minutes to flash off the raw alcohol. Turn off the heat and whisk in the cold butter cubes one by one to give the sauce a spectacular professional sheen.
10. 10
    Remove the duck from the oven, let it rest for 10 minutes, and carve it into neat portions if cooked whole.
11. 11
    Plate the warm duck pieces beautifully over a bed of steamed wild rice, nap them generously with the hot orange sauce, and garnish with fresh orange segments.