Caneton à l’orange or Roast Duck with Orange Sauce is a classic dish famously presented by Julia Child. The recipe comprises roast duck adorned with fresh orange segments and served with a rich orange-flavored brown sauce. The focal point of this dish lies in the sauce—a hearty, flavorful blend infused with duck essence and darkened using caramel. It’s essential to prepare the sauce well in advance to allow ample time for roasting the duck and serving it promptly.
Ingredients:
- 4 navel oranges (brightly colored)
- 1 ready-to-cook duckling (approximately 5½ lbs)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Pinch of pepper
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 cups strong, brown duck stock
- 4 skinned oranges
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot (blended with 3 tablespoons Madeira)
- ½ cup Port or Madeira
- 2-3 tablespoons orange liqueur
- A few drops of orange bitters or lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- Assorted vegetables such as onions, carrots, and celery for roasting
Procedure:
- Blanching the orange peel:
- Use a vegetable peeler to remove the orange skin, then cut it into julienne strips (1/16 inch wide, 1/2 inch long).
- Simmer the orange peel in a pot of water for about 15 minutes to remove bitterness. Drain and pat dry.
- Roasting the duck:
- Season the duck with salt and pepper, then stuff it with 1/3 of the prepared orange peel and tie it.
- Place the duck breast up in a roasting pan, surrounded by assorted vegetables. Roast in the middle level of the oven at 350°F until slightly browned (approximately 15 minutes).
- Reduce the oven temperature and turn the duck to its sides. Monitor closely to prevent burning, removing excess fat as needed. Continue cooking, turning occasionally, until the duck is cooked through.
- About 15 minutes before completion, salt the duck to taste and turn it breast side up. Juices should run pale yellow when fully cooked.
- The sauce:
- While the duck roasts, prepare a caramel coloring by heating vinegar and sugar in a pan until it turns brown. Remove from heat and add half-cup duck stock.
- Simmer briefly, stirring continuously to dissolve caramel. Add remaining duck stock and arrowroot mixture, then incorporate orange peel. Simmer until the sauce thickens. Season to taste and set aside.
- The orange segments:
- Peel and segment the oranges neatly, placing them on a serving platter.
- Final assembly:
- Once cooked, remove the duck and vegetables from the oven. Discard any strings and place them on the serving platter alongside the orange segments.
- Deglaze the roasting pan with wine, reducing it to 2-3 tablespoons. Add this reduction to the sauce and simmer briefly.
- Stir in orange liqueur and adjust seasoning as needed, ensuring a balanced orange flavor.
- Swirl in butter just before serving, then pour the sauce over the duck. Serve immediately.
I assume that 1/3 of orange peel is put into duck cavity? Perhaps, sprinkled over duck? How can I reduce the oven temperature when it does not tell you the temp to start with? If duck stock not available, what can be substituted? Or how to make? At what point is the butter incorporated to make the butter enrichment? And, what’s with drops of oj at the end seriously, drops? Augh.
a lot is missing here. it says to remove strings, but never that you should truss the duck. what’s the initial temp of the oven, for the first 15 mins, and before you turn it down to 350? What vegetables? too many things left out for this recipe to be trusted.
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So – just *how* long do you actually cook the duck for? 30 mins on each side, or just one? Stating “fifteen minutes before you take the duck out” is not exactly a useful measurement when you don’t know how long to leave the duck in in the first place. Is that 15 mins to start, 30 mins side 1, 30 mins side 2, 15 mins at end? i.e. 1 1/2 hours in total? Or does side 2 take less time because it has already been in the oven for 45 mins to start with? How long do you rest the duck for before starting to carve? (important for knowing for the prep of other vegetables)
And – quite bluntly, have you ever tried balancing any form of poultry “on its side” without it falling over and splashing hot fat everywhere? Recipe for disaster!
It’s a shame – on the surface, it looks like a lovely recipe, but the way it has been written out means that it is impossible to actually do (and I’m not likely to actually try it and risk it going wrong, given how expensive duck is…)
Yeah I’ve had other complaints about this recipe too. I’ll proof read it when I get a chance and clean it up. Sorry about the issues.
My wife and I are going to give this recipe a shot tomorrow. I see in the directions it says to add the vegetables but in the ingredients I’m not seeing any vegetables listed. Also I’m thinking I may have trouble finding duck stock so would chicken stock be a suitable replacement? And one more thing. Is orange bitters and orange juice the same thing? Any help to making this a success would be much appreciated. Thank you!
Andrew Hunter
Why wasn’t this proofread?
“Next, put 1/3 of the prepared orange peel and tie the duck.” Put the orange peel where?
“Take a decent sized roasting pan and place the duck breast up in it. ” Oh, I’ll put the duck breast ALL up in it!
“When the sauce is limped,” Limped?
“While your duck is roasting in the oven, you need to make a sweet and sour caramel coloring. ” Like draw a picture or make food coloring?
“Take the oranges and cut them into skinless, neat segment. ” Just the one?
I’ve seen a lot of poorly written recipes, but this takes the cake.
Ugh, I let a guy write a few recipes because he wanted to contribute and the first few were decent, so I gave him publishing rights. I’ll have to go review all of his posts now.