Roast Duck and Lynda's Duck Fat Roasted Potato Cakes
Here at Dublin Cookery School we love duck as an alternative to Turkey. It was a tradition on Christmas eve in my house that my Mum would serve a spectacular dinner with roast duck, duck cakes and all the accompaniments.
In fact, I love these duck cakes so much that I always serve them on Christmas day - with turkey, goose, duck, beef wellington or whatever I happen to be cooking. Bear in mind that lots of duck fat is required!
For the prep, they don’t really benefit from being in the fridge overnight but I often make the mashed potato the day before and then assemble them on the day.
They may be fried on the pan many hours in advance until golden on both sides and then placed on a tray for reheating closer to serving. They take about 15 minutes to reheat at about 160C.
To prepare the Roast Duck and Lynda's Duck Fat Roasted Potato Cakes
Preheat oven to 180° fan/200° over/Gas Mark 5
Roasting the Ducks
To start, prepare the ducks by pouring boiling water over each and patting dry, this will help achieve a crispier skin. Using a toothpick, poke holes through the skin on each duck. This will allow the fat to easily escape. Stuff each duck with a quartered orange, and use toothpicks to close up the cavity. Place on rack over roasting tin (to collect the Duck Fat for your potatoes) for about 90 minutes until fully cooked. Leave to rest under tinfoil for 30 mins. Collect the duck fat from the roasting tin for your potato cakes.
Preparing the Potato Cakes
Mix the potatoes, onion, flour and parsley together and season with salt and pepper. Form into little patties about 7cm x 15cm. The exact size is not important. Dip the top and bottom in flour and shake off the excess.
Melt a generous layer of duck fat in a heavy frying pan and add the duck cakes. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until a rich golden brown. Do not try and turn the duck cakes until you can see them going golden at the edges. Turn over, adding some more duck fat if required and cook on the other side for a further 5 minutes approximately, again until a rich golden colour
Carve and serve the roast duck with 1 - 2 potato cakes each
Ingredients
Serves 6
2 Large Ducks
2 Large Oranges, quartered
POTATO CAKES
1.24kg potatoes, cooked and mashed
1 small onion or large shallot, chopped very very finely
2 oz/55g flour
Generous bunch of chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper
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