Roast Duck with Cabbage and Potatoes

Ducks are available at the Market from K & L Poultry stock Luv-a-duck and Hagen's Organic Butcher stocks Free-Range Milawa Duck.

You’ll need to cook the duck for about 30 minutes per 1 kg so keep this in the back of your mind when buying your duck.

Ingredients

Whole roasted duck

• 1 whole duck
• prunes
• apples
• red wine

Braised red cabbage

• 1 head of cabbage, coarse short julienne
• 200g red wine vinegar
• 150g red currant gel
• 100g brown sugar
• 250g orange juice
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 star anise
• 5g salt

Potatoes

• chat potatoes
• 150g sugar
• 100g butter
• parsley

Method

Duck

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

To prepare the duck, wash out the inside, then remove the wingtips, neck and the outer joint of the thigh. Keep these parts and set aside for later.

Rub the duck with salt and let it sit out for a few hours to dry, or if you have the fridge space allow it to dry out overnight.

Cut the prunes and apples up and stuff inside the duck.

Place the duck onto a baking rack and then into a large baking tray. Add 1 cm of water to the tray and coat the duck in red wine.

Cook the duck in three parts. First, half of the cooking time should be breast down. Second, turn the duck over and cook breast side up. Third, allow the duck to rest for 20 to 30 minutes before carving. Continue to add red wine to the duck as it’s cooking.

While the duck is cooking, place cut off parts of the duck into a frying pan with a mixture of root vegetables and herbs. Add water and allow to reduce into a stock.

Once the duck has finished cooking/cooling, cut up using poultry scissors.

Use the remaining fat and red wine sauce in the baking tray to make a gravy. You do this by bringing it to the boil, adding some butter and flour and reducing.

Serve the duck with the prunes and apples on the side.

Cabbage

Put all components in a pot, bring to a simmer and let simmer until nice and tender. Cooking time is about 1.5 to 2 hours.

It’s then ready to serve, or cool down with all liquid and set aside for later use.

Potatoes

Give the potatoes a good wash and place in a pot with cold water and a good amount of salt. Bring to the boil and allow to cook.

When almost ready take about 1/3 of them (the smallest ones) and peel or scrape the skin off. These are for the caramelised potatoes.

Leave the remaining 2/3 in the pot, drain the water and leave the lid on.

Put the sugar into a saucepan – I recommend around 150g but you’ll basically need enough to cover the bottom of the pan.

Wet the sugar with water and bring to a simmer.

Get the sugar to a very brown colour then add the butter and a pinch of salt. Allow it to combine into a caramel.

Add the small peeled potatoes, toss them a few times and voila!

To the remaining potatoes, add some sea salt, a bit of butter and the freshly chopped parsley.

About Lasse Povlsen

Culinary Consultant, Denmark House

Lasse Povlsen started his career at Henne Kirkeby Kro, a two Michelin starred venue on the west coast of Denmark. Following training in classical Danish and French cuisine, he worked across Michelin awarded venues in Copenhagen including Nimb Louise and Retour.

In Melbourne, he has worked in some of our top restaurant kitchens including Attica, Circa, The Prince and Cumulus. Seeking a change in environment, Lasse set up his own consultancy in Richmond to help businesses get off the ground.

Currently, he is the Culinary Consultant at Denmark House.

Website: Denmark House
Address: 428 Little Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: 03 9600 4477