Skeaghanore Duck, look out for this one its got some quack

Roast Skeaghanore Duck breast, rillettes, potato, apple and thyme stuffing and burnt orange sauce

Eugene and Helena Hickey’s Skeaghanore duck is such a wonderful product and a real gem to cook with. I tasted this duck in a restaurant last year and I had to have it on my own menu. The texture and flavour is second to none. This recipe uses all the bird, the breasts for roasting, legs for confit and the carcase for stock.
1 Skeaghanore Duck
500g of duck fat
1 tblsp of chopped flat parsley
1 tsp of chopped capers
1tsp of chopped tarragon
Bay leaf
1 bulb of garlic
Rind of one orange
Few sprigs of thyme

For the stuffing you will need:
250g mashed potato
1 onion finely chopped
1 cooking apple, peeled and cored
Zest and juice of 1 orange
1 tsp of chopped thyme
150g good Irish Butter
Salt and white pepper



For the burnt orange sauce you will need:
100 ml of grand mariner
100 ml of cointreau
100g brown sugar
1 star anise
250ml of orange juice
250ml of duck stock
• First confit the duck legs by melting the duck fat in a small roasting tray, add a bulb of garlic, bay leaf, thyme and orange rind. Cook this in a slow oven 150 c for 1 ½ hours or until the meat comes off the bone without any resistance. Keep the duck fat it is fantastic for roasting potatoes.

• To make the stuffing by sweating off the onion in the butter, add the thyme, apple, zest and juice of the orange, let this reduce a little and fold in the mash potato. The stuffing should have a nice tang to it. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

• For the sauce put the cointerau and grand mariner in a stainless steel saucepan over a high heat and flame to burn off the alcohol, now add the sugar and caramelise. Now add the orange juice, duck stock and star anise, reduce quickly until it becomes a nice coating consistency.

• Heat a frying pan and season the duck breasts. Place skin side down and cook slowly until the skin is nice and golden, turn them over and place in an oven for twelve minutes.

• Now for the rillettes, shred the cooked meat of the duck leg with two forks, you want to break up the meat into stringy pieces, add the chopped parsley, chopped capers and tarragon, season and bind with a little bit of duck fat. This should taste rich but the capers will give a bit of bite to it.

• Now all you have to do is put the whole thing together, put the rillettes into small ramekins and place them on your warm main course plate, add a dollop of the stuffing. Carve the breasts and put the slices beside the stuffing and pour the sauce around the plate. Serve at once…