Christmas duck with red cabbage and bread dumplings

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 duck(s)
• some salt
• 1 small apple
• 1 onion(s)
• some mugwort
• some water
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 small red cabbage
• some salt and pepper
• some fat
• 1 small onion(s), finely chopped
• 1 small apple, cut into small pieces
• 3 spice grains
• 3 carnations
• some water
• some sugar
• some vinegar
• 250 g bread roll(s)
• 250 ml milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 small onion(s)
• some salt and pepper
• nutmeg
• 2 tbsp parsley, chopped

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 6 hours; Total time approx. 7 hours

Trim the wing tips and neck and set aside. Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Wash the duck (inside and out), pat dry, season with salt, and add the quartered sour apple, quartered onion, and mugwort. Place it in the oven and roast until browned all over. The time depends on the desired degree of browning. Reduce the temperature to approximately 80-150°C (the lower the temperature, the longer the duck needs to cook. I set the oven temperature to 120°C (250°F) and leave the duck in the oven for 5-6 hours). Add a little water to the roasting pan to prevent the duck from becoming too dry. The duck will need to be basted frequently with water from the roasting pan. It will stay in the oven for several hours (depending on its size). Then remove the duck from the roasting pan. Add the apple and onion pieces and the mugwort to the roasting pan along with the sour cream or sour cream and purée with the meat juices, seasoning if desired. Note: The red cabbage and dumplings cook relatively quickly, so they can be prepared during the last hour of the duck’s cooking time. Shred the red cabbage and season it in a bowl with salt and pepper. Put a little fat in a pot and sauté the onion and apple pieces, then add 3 cloves and 3 spice seeds. Sauté briefly. Add the red cabbage and a little water. Stir occasionally, adding a little water each time to prevent the red cabbage from burning (but the red cabbage shouldn’t be swimming in water!). Cook the red cabbage until it reaches the desired firmness and finally, round off the flavor with a little sugar and vinegar. Dice the bread. Mix the milk, egg, and spices, pour over the bread cubes, and let it sit for 20 minutes. Finely chop the onions and sauté in butter until translucent. Let them cool and add them to the rolls. Simply stir in the parsley. Then form dumplings and press them firmly so they don’t fall apart. Place the steamer basket and water in a tightly sealed pot, bring to a boil, then add the dumplings and steam for about 30 minutes. Tip: I cooked the neck and wing tips along with the giblets (except the liver). This makes a delicious chicken broth.