Crispy duck with baked apples

Duck is my favourite meat, so much so that I had it as my wedding menu main course. I was particularly excited to find a whole Barbary duck in the supermarket. The Barbary duck, also known as Muscovy duck, is leaner than other breeds of farmed ducks and renowned for its plump, firm meat. I decided to roast the whole duck properly with apples and beetroots, not forgetting to render some delicious duck fat along the way. 

Crispy duck with baked apples, roast beetroots, and hasselback potatoes

Pan seared duck with cranberry sauce

Duck is quite possibly my favourite meat (so much so that I put it on my wedding menu as a main course). I made a beautiful dinner tonight with duck breast fillets from Silver Hill.

Pan seared duck with cranberry orange coconut sauce, served with trio of pepper torta and sautéed  broccolini

Duck consommé

I grew up on my mother's broths, be it chicken or bone. Nothing nourished me more on a cold, wet day than a piping bowl of chicken and shiitake in homemade broth. My mother would always skim the fat off the broth before serving it, and often she'd do so by freezing the broth overnight and then skimming off the solid bits.

For years I followed her way to make chicken broths. And then I saw Heston Blumenthal make a beautiful duck consommé by freezing the broth and then slowly defrosting it in muslin cloth. I thought what a great way to preserve the flavours! So after procuring muslin cloths from a friend in Taiwan (I'm sure it's available somewhere in Dublin, but all I could find from visiting numerous shops was cheesecloth, which is more gauze than fabric), I got to try out this promising method.

Duck consommé with steamed shrimp dumplings and scallop dumplings

Duck with cranberry sauce and potato hash

Duck with cranberry, orange & coconut sauce
served with sweet potato, baby potato & Brussel sprout hash

Roast duck & rendered duck fat

Barbary duck with spicy mango salsa and potato & courgette chips