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Duck is quite popular in South Africa and is often seen sold near the Christmas turkey. For a special occasion I prefer ducks, and as most South African ducks are pekin-type ducks (with long breasts) this Asian-inspired treatment seems apposite. The basis for the recipe is one of my husband’s Asian fusion recipes, but I’ve added an African twist or two.
Five-spice, with its blend of cinnamon, cloves, fennel, Szechuan pepper and star anise is a classic Chinese spice blend, but it’s almost Christmassy in its nature and I’ve added allspice (pimenton) here as it’s a classic component of Caribbean jerk seasoning and it’s also a very Christmassy spice.
Prep time 20 minutes/Cook time 135 Minutes/Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 Pekin-type duck (mine weighed 1.9kg [4 1/3 lbs])
½ onion (no need to peel)
1 tbsp runny honey
2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
½ tsp ground allspice (pimenton)
½ tsp smoked chipotle chilli powder (or smoked paprika)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 chilli, finely minced (I used a red habanero, but use a chilli of your choice; smoked chillies are very good)
Method
Preheat your oven to 150°C (130°C fan, 300°F, Gas Mark 2).
Remove the giblets, rinse the duck under cold water, and pat it dry with a paper towel (both inside and out).
Trim off excess fat, and pull out any leftover quills with tweezers. Using a sharp knife, score the skin of the duck (you should aim to just cut through the fat without touching the meat); this will help render the fat (great for your roasties) and ensure that you get crispy skin.
Pop the onion half into the body cavity then truss the duck by poking the tail up into the cavity and tying the legs together with a piece of butcher’s twine.
Sit a rack in your roasting tray then sit the duck on top, breast side uppermost.
Transfer to your oven and roast for 60 minutes. After this time, take the duck out of the oven and poke it all over with the point of a sharp knife to release even more of the fat. Pour the excess fat from the roasting tin and return the duck to the oven (but this time have it breast side down). Continue roasting for 1 hour.
In the meantime, prepare the glaze. Combine the honey, five-spice powder, allspice, chilli powder, soy sauce and minced chilli (if using) in a small saucepan along with 1 tbsp water. Heat gently, beating with a spoon until the ingredients have combined. Take off the heat and set aside.
Once the second hour of roasting is up, take the duck out and brush it generously all over with the glaze. Turn it over, and brush the breast-side too, not neglecting the drumsticks, then return to the oven.
Increase the oven temperature to 180°C (160°C fan, 355°F, Gas Mark 4). Be careful at this stage, as the glaze can burn easily. It shouldn’t take more than five minutes for the glaze to crisp and become a deep golden brown. However, if it starts to catch, remove the duck immediately.
Remove from the oven then set aside, loosely covered in foil, to rest for 10 minutes before carving. I served mine with biltong roast potatoes cooked in the duck fat (see the next recipe).
South African Roast Potatoes with Biltong
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In South Africa, roast potatoes remain the typical accompaniment to roast meat. This version is given an additional South African twist using powdered biltong and brown onion soup mix for even more flavour. The recipe here uses cooking oil and butter to roast the potatoes in. In fact, as I was roasting a duck at the same time, I used a blend of duck fat and butter. Duck/goose fat will always provide improved flavour and crispness if you have it.
Prep time 30 minutes/Cook time 70 minutes/Serves 4
Ingredients:
10 baby potatoes
150ml (3/5 cup) cooking oil (or duck fat)
100g butter
1 x 55g (2 oz) brown onion soup packet
100g (1 cup) grated or powdered biltong
Method
Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan, 355°F, Gas Mark 4). Cut the potatoes in half and par-boil in lightly-salted water for 20 minutes, or until half cooked. While they’re boiling, melt the butter and mix with the oil (or duck fat) and brown onion soup powder. Mix in half the grated biltong, and set the other half aside.
Grease 15×30cm (6 x 10 in) glass or Pyrex baking dish. Place par-boiled potatoes inside.
Score each par-boiled potato with a sharp blade to 2/3rds deep, 1cm (1/2 in) apart. Baste generously with the biltong and oil mixture, and place in the oven for 1 hour, or until the outsides are golden brown and crispy. Take out halfway through and re-baste.
Serve in a bowl with the remaining grated biltong sprinkled over. It’s highly unlikely that you’ll ever want to do them another way again.
The potatoes can also be served as a starter, garnished with herbs (thyme, chopped mint and chives) and served with a small salad and a soured cream and chive dipping sauce).
