Duck à la Miss Jensen

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 duck(s), ready to roast, approx. 2 – 2.5 kilos
• 3 apples
• 10 prunes (dried plums)
• salt and pepper
• cognac
• red wine
• possibly cornstarch (e.g. Mondamin) or ice-cold butter flakes to bind

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 2 hours 45 minutes; Total time approx. 3 hours 5 minutes

Cover the prunes with cognac and let it marinate for a few hours. Season the duck inside and out with salt and pepper, stuff with quartered apples and the cognac plums. Pin or sew the duck shut. Place the duck breast-down on a rack in a cold oven and set the temperature to 160°C (320°F). After 45 minutes, remove the fat from a pan under the rack. Pour a cup of water into the pan, turn the duck over, and roast for another two hours. For the last ten minutes, you may want to increase the oven temperature to 250°C (480°F), but leave the oven door slightly ajar. Drain the fat from the roasting juices and season with red wine, cognac, salt, and pepper. Thicken with Mondamin or flakes of ice-cold butter if desired. The recipe for the “cold-roasted duck” comes from the legendary Danish chef “Miss Jensen.” The seasoning with cognac and red wine is my own.