Recipe Pairing: Roast Duck with Roots with Sokol Blosser Old Vineyard Block Estate Pinot Noir
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Ingredients
- 1 large, whole duck, with giblets. Free range and organic.
- 2 pounds medium sized beets, peeled and quartered
- 2 pounds red potatoes, cut into roasting chunks and parboiled.
- 1 small onion
- 1 carrot
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 oz red wine
- 4 ea whole peppercorn
- Brown sugar, as needed
- Cooking oil, as needed
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Method
If the duck is tied, untruss it and gently pull the legs away from the body. Cut off wing tips and reserve for gravy. Remove any excess fat from the cavity. Turn the duck over (breast side down) and firmly press down on the backbone until you hear a crack. Using a small needle, or the tip of a sharp paring knife, prick the skin all over the fatty leg and breast parts. Don't prick too deeply- you’re trying to pierce the skin, but not the meat, so that the fat will render and run free. Season the skin with salt and pepper and let temper on the counter for 30 minutes.
Begin prep and cooking of the giblet stock (see below). Once stock is in the saucepan and simmering, return to the duck.
Place the bird in a roasting pan that has enough room to fit the beets and parboiled potatoes around the sides. Place the pan in the 425 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes, until the fat starts to run.
Turn the oven down to 350 degrees. Carefully remove the pan, baste the duck and return to the oven for another 20 minutes. While the duck is in the oven, toss your raw beets and parboiled potatoes in a generous amount of salt and pepper. After the 20 minutes have elapsed, carefully remove the pan and add the vegetables to the pan. Baste the bird again and return the pan to the oven.
Carefully remove the pan to turn the vegetables and baste the duck every 20 minutes. Check for doneness after about 1 ¾ hours total cook time. The duck will be done when you pierce the thickest part of the leg by the breast and the juices run clear.
Remove potatoes and beets and keep warm in the oven as it cools. Drain excess fat and juices from the duck and place on a carving board to rest.
For the gravy:
Carefully pour off the fat from the duck juices and reserve for future use, keeping the duck juices and tasty bits in the pan. Heat the pan and deglaze with the red wine, scraping the pan to free the delicious tasty bits. Pour the deglazed pan juices into a fresh pan, strain the giblet stock into the pan, and boil hard to reduce to a delicious gravy. Season well with salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Adjust the gravy with a touch of brown sugar to balance, if necessary.
When gravy is prepared, slice and serve duck with roasted vegetables. Enjoy with Sokol Blosser Old Vineyard Pinot Noir!
