Roast duck in butter and sage with cider sauce
15 servings
30 minutes
Fried duck in butter and sage with cider sauce is an exquisite dish of European cuisine that combines the rich flavor of duck meat with the aromatic spice of sage and the sweet tang of cider. This recipe has a history: the combination of duck with fruity notes emerged in French and English gastronomy centuries ago. Duck infused with sage and roasted to a crispy crust becomes especially tender due to generous basting with juices. The cider and calvados-based sauce adds a noble depth of flavor to the dish. Such a dish is perfect for a festive dinner where impressing guests with sophistication is important while maintaining the coziness of home cooking. It pairs excellently with mashed potatoes or baked apples, and serving it with a golden sauce makes it a true culinary masterpiece.
1
In a small bowl, mix salt and dried sage. Place the duck on a baking sheet and rub it with the salt mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- Coarse salt: 3 tablespoons
- Dried sage: 1 tablespoon
- Duck: 8 kg
2
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees. Pat the duck dry. Tuck the wings under the duck and fold the legs together. In a pan, mix butter and 0.25 cup of fresh chopped sage leaves and heat on low until the butter melts. Brush the duck with the butter and generously sprinkle with black pepper.
- Butter: 60 g
- Sage leaves: 0.3 glass
- Duck: 8 kg
- Coarse salt: 3 tablespoons
- Dried sage: 1 tablespoon
- Coarse salt: 3 tablespoons
3
Roast the duck for 1 hour, occasionally basting with the rendered juices. Reduce the temperature to 180 degrees and roast for another 45 minutes. Then baste with half a cider and cook for another 15 minutes or until the internal temperature of the bird reaches 73-75 degrees. Transfer the duck to a platter, cover with foil, and let it rest for 30-45 minutes.
- Duck: 8 kg
- Dry cider: 1.5 glass
4
Pour all the juices from the pan into a bowl. Remove excess fat, transferring 2 tablespoons to the skillet. Place the duck pan on 2 burners and add broth and remaining cider. Bring to a boil over high heat and simmer until reduced to 1.5 cups, about 6 minutes. Add the duck juices. Add more broth if necessary. You should have about 3.5 cups of mixture.
- Chicken broth: 2 glasss
- Dry cider: 1.5 glass
- Duck: 8 kg
5
Heat a pan with fat over medium heat, add flour and sauté for 2 minutes. Then add the broth mixture, bring to a boil, and cook for 6 minutes until thickened. Add calvados and remaining sage. Season with salt and pepper.
- Wheat flour: 2 tablespoons
- Chicken broth: 2 glasss
- Calvados: 3 tablespoons
- Sage leaves: 0.3 glass
- Coarse salt: 3 tablespoons
- Coarse salt: 3 tablespoons
6
Serve the sauce with the duck.
- Dry cider: 1.5 glass
- Duck: 8 kg