Spiced duck pot roast recipe

Braised red cabbage goes fantastically well with duck in this sweet and sour spiced duck pot roast. Go for duck legs and thighs rather than breast, as these will stay more juicy and succulent.

Ingredients (serves 4)

400g red cabbage, tough core removed and sliced into long strips

2 onions, thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and roughly chopped

180g seedless grapes

50g dried cranberries (or 65g fresh)

1 pinch each of ground cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg

100ml red wine

3tbsp sherry vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 duck legs, thighs attached (about 200g each)

Method

Preheat the oven to 160ºC (Fan 150ºC). In a large, flameproof casserole dish that has a lid, mix together all the ingredients except the duck, along with a couple of generous pinches of salt and a few grinds of a pepper mill.

Put the dish on a low heat on the hob just to get things bubbling, then pop in the oven with the lid on, for one and a half hours. Give everything a stir a couple of times during the cooking time.

Meanwhile, trim the duck legs of any excess skin or fat and score the surface of the skin with a sharp knife, taking care not to pierce the flesh, only the skin. (Scoring helps the fat to be released and encourages browning.) Season the duck with salt and black pepper and in a dry non-stick frying pan, brown the pieces of duck on a medium heat, skin-side down.

Don’t crowd the pan, so do it in batches if you have to. The duck will release a lot of fat, so drain it off as you go (keep it in the fridge to make delicious roast potatoes) and continue browning for about seven minutes until most of the fat has rendered and the skin side is a deep golden brown colour.

Quickly seal the other side for a couple of minutes and set aside on a plate.

After the cabbage has been cooking for one and a half hours, remove it from the oven and place the browned duck pieces skin-side up on top of the red cabbage mixture. Place the dish back in the oven, covered, for a further one and a half hours until most of the liquid in the pot has reduced.

Don’t be afraid to give the cabbage under the duck a little stir or shake a few times during cooking.

After enjoying the aromas for a few hours, you’ll be left with delicious sweet and sour red cabbage and meltingly soft duck on top. Add a little more salt to the cabbage if you think it needs it. Serve with some crunchy sautéed potatoes.