Twice-cooked sticky duck

This recipe for tender, juicy duck with a honey glaze is staggered and takes out all the stress of doing it on the day

  • Prep:20 mins
    Cook:2 hrs
    plus overnight chilling
  • Serves 6
  • Easy

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 381
  • fat 19g
  • saturates 5g
  • carbs 4g
  • sugars 4g
  • fibre 0g
  • protein 46g
  • salt 1.3g

Ingredients

  • 1 strip pared orange zest
  • 6 duck legs
  • 6 garlic cloves, smashed
  • thumb-sized piece ginger, sliced
  • 1 ½ tsp Chinese five-spice powder
  • 100ml dark soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp golden caster sugar
  • 50ml Shaohsing rice wine
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • ½ tsp Chinese five-spice powder
  • halved and sliced cucumber
  • coriander leaves
  • sliced chilli
  • cooked rice

Method

  1. The day before eating, tip all the ingredients for the duck into a pan and just cover with water. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat, cover and simmer gently for 1 hr 30 mins until the duck is really tender (or a slow cooker for 4 hrs would be ideal). Remove the duck from the liquid, leave to cool, then chill in the fridge, uncovered. Chill the liquid separately too. Can be done up to 3 days ahead and kept in the fridge, covered, or frozen for up to 3 months.

  2. The next day, remove all the fat from the stock, pour 400ml into a pan and simmer down by a third, or until intensely flavoured. The remaining stock can be frozen and used another time to poach meat or poultry.

  3. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. For the glaze, mix 1 tbsp of the reduced stock with the honey and five-spice. Put the duck legs on a baking tray, skin-side up, and roast in the oven for 25-30 mins until they are hot and the skin is lacquered.

  4. Arrange some cucumber on a serving platter with the duck on the side, then scatter over the coriander. Add some sliced chilli to the simmered stock and serve on the side for spooning over the rice. Serve with our steamed pak choi.

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