Food for Autumn · No. 34 · 2012

Duck With Plums

Serves 2 · Note Marinate for a few hours or overnight · Cooking just over 2 hours

Play episode13 min · MP3 13 MB

Duck legs marinated in soy, five spice and star anise, then slow-roasted on a bed of plums and a little chilli until the meat falls off the bone and the skin crackles.

Cooked by a friend from the Keston Kitchen, with Elle asking the questions. It is a good one for a dinner party because the oven does the work.

Serves: 2
Note: Marinate for a few hours or overnight

Method

0 of 9 steps

Mix the soy sauce, olive oil, five spice, star anise and cinnamon in a bowl. Add the duck legs and rub the marinade all over with your hands.
Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for a few hours, or overnight if you are organised.
Heat the oven to 170°C (gas mark 3).
Halve the plums and take out the stones. Slice the chilli open, remove the seeds and chop it finely.
Put the plums in the bottom of the dish, scatter over the chilli and the demerara sugar, then pour over the marinade left in the bowl, spices and all. Spread it into an even layer.
Nestle the duck legs on top, skin side up so the skin goes crisp.
Roast for just over 2 hours (about 2¼), until the meat is tender and the skin is golden and crisp.
Spoon off any excess fat from the dish and leave the duck to rest for 5 minutes.
Serve with mashed potato.

Lovely. Time to eat!

Variations and notes

Choosing the dish

Pick a dish that the duck and plums fit into snugly. If they are spread out, the juices dry up instead of mixing together.

Why duck legs

Legs are cheaper than breast and have more flavour, and slow cooking makes the meat tender enough to fall off the bone.

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