Duck Porchetta Roast

Courtesy of Ian Curley 

Prep time – 30 mins (plus 1 day in the fridge)
Cooking time - 1.25 hours

Cooking Needs

1 Luv-a-Duck Whole Deboned Duck
150 ml red wine
50 ml dry sherry
2 Tblsp. sugar
1 bay leaf dried
1 sprig thyme, plus 2 Tblsp chopped thyme
½ tsp white peppercorns
2 allspice berries
Fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 cup prunes, soaked in 1 cup orange juice overnight
100 g pistachios, roasted and chopped
450 g pork mince
¼ bunch parsley, leaves washed and finely chopped

probe thermometer or oven with probe

METHOD

Firstly, in a small pot place the red wine, sherry, sugar, peppercorns, allspice, bay leaf and sprig of thyme and bring up to the boil to dissolve the sugar. Pour over the prunes and allow to steep for 1 hour.

Have you deboned duck at fridge temperature (defrosted) before you start. Lay duck skin side down and season with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Drain the prunes and in a bowl, combine with the pistachios, mince, parsley and thyme. Pat the stuffing into a cylinder about 8cm in diameter and 8cm shorter than the duck. Lay the stuffing in the middle of the duck and roll the meat tightly around it. Lightly score the skin in a crisscross pattern to release fat during cooking. This will allow for a crispy skin duck.

Truss the duck tightly in a cylinder using butchers twine. Cut even lengths of twine that will fit around the duck and are able to be pulled tight and tied off. Spacing 2cm apart place the twine under the duck with the close of the 2 ends on the bottom. Start from one end and tie 6 to 8 lengths of twine along the length of the duck.

Place the duck on a rack in a roasting tin and place in the oven.

Roast, basting after 20 minutes with the drippings from the pan for around 1 hour or until the middle of the stuffing reaches 60°C. (If the skin gets a little too dark too quickly, you can lower the temperature of the oven to 170°C and finish cooking until internal temp gets to 170)
Remove the duck from the oven and rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Carve 2.5 cm thick slices to serve on wild rice or sweet potato mash with garlic spinach 
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