Roast duck with crispy potatoes and mulled-wine cherry sauce

Name: Roast duck with crispy potatoes and mulled-wine cherry sauce
Total time: 3 h
Yield: serves 4
Ingredients: duck legs 4; thyme a few sprigs, plus extra for garnishing; garlic 6 cloves, bashed; sea salt flakes; Maris Piper potaotes 1kg, peeled and diced to 2cm; red wine 300ml; chicken stock 300ml; dried sour cherries 75g; cloves 3; allspice 4; cinnamon stick ½; redcurrant jelly 1 tbsp; butter 30g

3 hours
serves 4
Easy

Check out our indulgent roast duck legs with super crispy potatoes and spiced cherry sauce. You can scale this up or down, with one leg and 200-250g of potatoes per person

December 4, 2018 at 4:20 pm

Ingredients

duck legs 4
thyme a few sprigs, plus extra for garnishing
garlic 6 cloves, bashed
sea salt flakes
Maris Piper potaotes 1kg, peeled and diced to 2cm

MULLED-WINE CHERRY SAUCE

red wine 300ml
chicken stock 300ml
dried sour cherries 75g
cloves 3
allspice 4
cinnamon stick ½
redcurrant jelly 1 tbsp
butter 30g

Method

Step 1

To make the sauce, put the wine, stock, cherries and spices into a pan. Simmer until reduced by ¹/2. Scoop out the spices and discard. Stir in the redcurrant jelly and butter, and season. Reheat to serve.
Step 2

Heat the oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Put the duck legs in a baking dish and pat the skins dry. Add the thyme and garlic, and sprinkle with sea salt. Cover the dish tightly with foil and cook for 2 hours.
Step 3

Meanwhile, drop the potatoes into boiling salted water and cook for 5 minutes. Drain.
Step 4

Take the baking dish out of the oven and remove the duck legs. Turn up the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 and put in a large, shallow, non-stick baking tray. Pour the duck juices from the baking dish into a jug. Pour off and keep the fat, leaving behind the duck juices (you can add these to the cherry sauce, if you like).
Step 5

Put 4 tbsp of the fat into the hot baking tray. Add the potatoes and stir around in the fat. Put in the oven and cook for 20 minutes until the potatoes are just turning golden, then nestle the duck in among the potatoes and cook for 40 minutes or until the duck and potatoes are crisp and deep golden. Sprinkle with more fresh thyme and sea salt. Serve with the sauce and some greens, if you like.