Roasted Dry Aged Duck by Emily Roux, Caractère Restaurant.
By Emily Roux @ Caractère Restaurant, London
Emily was born and raised in London into the most gastronomic of families. Her passion for food started at a young age and she has continued to follow in her father’s footsteps dedicating her life to culinary excellence. Emily is now chef owner of Caractère Restaurant, London.
Method
Preheat your oven at 180 C FAN
Step 1 - To prepare the duck:
Gently blow torch the skin in order to remove the possible remaining feathers.
Remove the legs and create the crown by removing the bottom half from the spine (these are perfect for stock). Simply remove half of the wing on both sides to obtain a perfect crown ready for roasting.
Step 2:
Place the coriander seeds and juniper berries on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes remove the tray from the oven and set aside to cool. In the meantime, switch your oven to 210 C. Use a pestle and mortar to grind the toasted seeds, berries, peppercorn and salt all together. You are aiming for a mignonette, not a powder.
Place the honey and vinegar in a small saucepan and gently heat until soft and spreadable.
Use a brush to cover all the skin of the duck in honey then immediately sprinkle over the homemade mignonette.
Place the crown on a baking tray and roast until the skin is a beautiful golden colour and crispy to touch. This should take approximately 30 minutes (depending on the size of the duck). Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to rest for 20 minutes before carving and serving with a sprinkle of freshly chopped thyme.
© Emily Roux 2021
For more information on Emily Roux and Caractère Restaurant visit: www.caractererestaurant.com
Ingredients:
1 Dry aged duck (approx. 2kg)
4 Tbsp of Lavender honey
1 Tbsp of white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp of coriander seeds
½ Tbsp of dried juniper berries
½ Tbsp of black peppercorns
½ Tbsp of coarse sea salt
A sprig of fresh thyme
