Crispy duck

Ingredients for 5 servings:

• 2 ½ kg duck(s), whole, gutted, with offal
• 2 apples, pitted
• 1 garlic clove(s)
• 3 tbsp, heaped marjoram
• 3 tsp, leveled salt
• 2 onions
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 allspice berries
• n. B. chicken stock
• ½ cup cream
• some mustard
• 3 tbsp flour
• e.g. marjoram

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 3 hours; Total time approx. 3 hours 45 minutes

simple and suitable for children

Wash the poultry thoroughly inside and out and pat dry with a kitchen towel. If necessary, cut away the sebaceous gland at the back of the anus. Then rub the duck inside and out with the spices. Cut the apples and garlic into pieces and add them to the bird along with the giblets. Then close the duck at the back and front with roulade pins or string. Place the duck back-up in a roasting pan and fill it with about 3/4 liter of water, add the bay leaves and allspice berries, and close the roasting pan. Place the roasting pan in the oven and preheat it to 250 degrees Celsius. When it’s sizzling hot—after about 25-40 minutes, depending on the oven—turn the oven down to 175 degrees Celsius. Add the two coarsely chopped onions. Roast for about 2-2.5 hours; turn the duck every 45 minutes during this time. Once the poultry is cooked (the legs are a good indicator: the skin will have come off the top and the bare bones are clearly visible), remove the meat and set the oven to 250 degrees Celsius (480 degrees Fahrenheit). Place the duck back in the oven on the lid of the roasting pan and place a pot holder in the door. While the duck is crisping up, you can prepare the sauce. Pour the jus into a small saucepan, remove the bay leaves, and puree everything. (If you like, you can separate the fat first, but I like it the way Grandma used to make it; none of it was skimmed off.) Now season the sauce to taste with chicken stock or something similar, the spices, and a little mustard. Half fill a small bowl with cold water, stir in the flour until smooth, and add the mixture to the sauce to thicken. Season the sauce with about half a cup of cream and, if desired, add more marjoram. Don’t forget to turn the bird halfway through once one side is crispy. Then remove the bird, carve it up, remove the garlic pieces, and serve the stuffing separately. This goes best with half-and-half dumplings and a generous helping of red cabbage.