Roast duck with cherry sauce

Step 1

Preheat oven to 230°C. Wash duck inside and out, then pat dry all over with paper towel. Use kitchen string to tie its legs firmly together. Place on a wire rack over a roasting tray. Use a metal or wooden skewer to prick the skin all over (allows the fat to drain off). Cook in the middle shelf of the oven for 1 3/4 hours.

Step 2

Twice during the cooking time, use an oven baster or spoon to remove excess fat from the roasting pan (store this in the fridge and use later to fry or roast potatoes). Remove the duck from the oven and set aside for 10 minutes to rest before carving.

Step 3

Turn duck onto its breast and carve use a flexible knife to carve down both sides of the backbone. Discard the backbone. Cut off the legs, then cut the breast meat away from the breastbone, keeping the knife close to the bone. Cut leg in two between the thigh and the drumstick. Cut the breast in two, or slice.

Step 4

To make the cherry sauce, place the orange juice and zest, ginger, soy sauce, lemon juice, port and cherries (reserving 2 tablespoons of the juice from the canned cherries) in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. In a small bowl or glass, combine the reserved cherry juice with the cornflour and stir into the sauce. Cook for a further minute until the sauce thickens. Serve with the sliced duck.