Roast Duck Legs with Cherry & Red Wine Sauce
Burnished mahogany duck legs sitting in a pool of glossy, jewel-dark cherry sauce, thyme leaves scattered across the crisp skin and a pile of buttery mash alongside soaking up every drop.
Ingredients
Serves 4- 4bone-in duck legs, about 250 g each
- 200 mlchicken stock
- 2cloves garlic, crushed
- 3thyme sprigs, 2 for the sauce and leaves from 1 reserved for finishing
- 200 mlred wine
- 1 tbspbalsamic vinegar
- 1 tspflaky sea salt
- 1 tbspbutter
- 1 tspChinese five-spice
- 300 gfresh or frozen cherries, pitted
- 1 tbspred currant jelly
- Black pepper
- 1050 gprepared mashed potatoes, warmed, optional (optional)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C. Pat the duck legs bone-dry with kitchen paper. Score the skin in a cross-hatch, cutting through the fat but not into the flesh, then rub the five-spice and flaky sea salt all over, working it into the scored skin. Season generously; duck legs are thick and need it.
- Sit the legs skin-side up in a hob-safe roasting tin and roast for 45 minutes, until the skin is deep mahogany and the fat has puddled out into the tin. You're rendering, not just cooking; that slow fat release is what gives you crisp skin without basting.
- Lift the duck onto a plate. Carefully pour off most of the duck fat into a heatproof jar (save it; best roast potatoes of your life).
- Set the tin over a medium hob. Leave the browned bits in the tin. Pour in the red wine and scrape them up with a wooden spoon until they dissolve into the liquid. Add the chicken stock, crushed garlic, 2 thyme sprigs and the measured 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar. Cook the garlic just until fragrant. Let everything bubble for about 5 minutes, until the raw wine edge has cooked off.
- Stir in the cherries and redcurrant jelly. Taste the sauce now; it should be sharp, fruity, savoury. Nestle the legs back into the tin skin-side up, keeping the crisp skin proud of the sauce so it stays crackling.
- Return to the oven for 30–40 minutes, until the duck is fork-tender and reaches 75°C for 30 seconds beside the bone. Cook longer if needed. Lift the legs onto warm plates and rest for 5 minutes. Discard the two thyme sprigs, then swirl the butter into the sauce off the heat. Taste before adding any more seasoning.
- Serve one duck leg per person with the cherry sauce. Scatter over the reserved thyme leaves and add black pepper. Serve the optional warmed mashed potatoes alongside if using.
Per serving
- kcal
- 767
- protein
- 43.2g
- fibre
- 0.7g
- carbs
- 6.7g
- fat
- 58.3g
Cook this in Chop it
Get the app to scan your fridge, plan the week, and shop in one tap.