Roast Stuffed Wild Duck

Ingredients

• two plucked and gutted ducks – Mallards if possible as a wee bit more tender than Paradise ducks but not end of world if parries.
• bottle of Corban’s rich ruby port or a cheap red wine
• 2 litres of chicken stock
• 3 stalks of celery

Stuffing:

• about 6 slices of wholemeal bread - stale if possible
• half an onion
• clove of garlic
• a couple of stalks of fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon of melted butter
• tablespoon of sesame oil – optional
• juice from 2 oranges/or two apricots from tin that are in juice, not syrup
• 1 third of a cup of pine nuts
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• half teaspoon of pepper

Method

Break up the slices of bread slightly and put in blender with half an onion. Blend it until bread starts to break up. 

Add the parsley minus stalky bits and the juice from an orange or two, or apricots. Add salt and pepper, butter and blend.  If it is a bit chunky add some sesame oil and juice of apricots or more orange juice  It should be the consistency of uncooked Christmas pudding. I like my stuffing quite gooey and moist. Add the pine nuts and blend briefly so they are slightly chopped. 

With your hands shove the stuffing into the ducks gut cavities and press firmly.  Seal the skin by ‘sewing’ a toothpick or two through it, or shove half an onion in.  The stuffing does swell during roasting and may explode out. 

In a large dish that has a lid and is suitable for the oven place the three sticks of celery on the bottom and sit the ducks on top. I like a high lid so all the steam and flavours blend in it.

Then pour about half a bottle of the wine along with a litre of the chicken stock over them.  Ideally the liquid should be at least a third of the way up the side of the ducks. Add more wine and stock as necessary. Shake a bit of salt and pepper over the top. Put in oven and roast at 180 degrees for 10 minutes then turn down to 160 degrees. After an hour of roasting baste the ducks and check fluid level. Then baste again every half hour until times up! Remove the ducks from the dish and make gravy in it with all the yummy juices.