Duck had featured regularly in my kitchen over the lockdown periods so it only feel appropriate to include it for family Christmas dinner as well. Lucky for me with the additional options and supplies over Christmas that I also managed to get my hands on the very special Great Ocean duck.
The duck here is dry aged for 10 days for the more intense flavour and crispy skin, glazed with honey lavender spice and roasted on crown. With beautiful cherries in season, I've paired it with a thick and sticky cherry cognac jus. It's the perfect Christmas dish for me on a plate.
Difficulty: Medium
Time: 1 hour*
Serves: 4
* Excluding the time of ageing and making duck jus. You can do the duck jus in advance and keep them in the freezer.
Ingredients
Duck Spice
- 1 tbsp sichuan pepper corn
- 1 tbsp coriander
- 1/2 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp dried lavender
Great Ocean Aged Duck
- 1 10-day aged duck crown only (you can confit the legs for another time)
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp lavender syrup
- salt
Cherry and Cognac Duck Jus
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 60ml cognac
- 2 juniper berries
- 2 cloves
- pinch of all spice
- 2 cups of duck jus**
- 100g cherries halved and pits removed
- 2 tbsp butter
- salt
- pepper
** I've made a large batch of duck jus in advance and froze them into portions. For recipe refer to the duck jus recipe shared at the bottom of this link.
Method
10 Days Prior
1. Dry the duck completely with paper towels. Place it on a baking tray with an elevation rack in a fridge with good air circulation. Allow it to age and dry for 10 days.
On the Day
1. Lightly toast the Szechuan pepper, coriander seeds and cumin seeds in a small thick saucepan until fragrant. Transfer to a mortar and pestle and grind until it turns into a fine powder, stir in the lavender flowers.
2. To make the sauce, place the honey and brown sugar in a heavy sauce pan. Heat over medium high heat for a couple of minutes until very well caramelised. Add the juniper berries, cloves and all spice, cook for 30 seconds before adding 2 tablespoon of the red wine vinegar. Let the vinegar cook down a bit before adding the cognac and cook until half of the liquid has evaporated. Add the duck jus and cherries, cook over medium heat until the jus has been reduced to half.
3. Finish the sauce by slowly incorporate the butter over medium heat, add 1/2 tablespoon of red wine and season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm and set aside.
4. Preheat the oven to 190c fan forced. In a small bowl, mix the honey, lavender syrup, duck spice together and rub all over the duck. Season with salt.
5. Place the duck on a roasting rack and roast for 8 minutes. Rotate the duck and return it to the oven for another 8-9 minutes until it reaches an internal temperature of 53 degrees. Remove from the oven, and rest for 15 minutes before carving.
6. To assemble, slice the duck breast to the portion desired, dress generously with the sauce and the cherries and enjoy!
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