Roast crispy duck with cranberry glaze
Serves: 3-4
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Kris Kirkham
Roast crispy duck with cranberry glaze
Recipe by Neil Rankin
Getting a properly crispy duck like those found at Chinese restaurants can be difficult at home. Brining ensures the meat stays juicy, while scoring the skin means it cooks faster and loses more moisture, becoming lovely and crisp. The glaze has a slight Asian feel, but plenty of Christmas warmth
Serves: 3-4
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
728Kcal
Fat
30gr
Saturates
9gr
Carbs
43gr
Sugars
43gr
Fibre
0gr
Protein
63gr
Salt
5gr
Neil Rankin
Neil is a Scottish chef who began his career in fine-dining restaurants before falling in love with the dirtier side of cooking – smoking and barbecuing. After stints at meat-centric London restaurants including Smokehouse, Pitt Cue Co and Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa, he opened Temper restaurant in 2016 and now has three in the capital.
See more of Neil Rankin’s recipes
Neil Rankin
Neil is a Scottish chef who began his career in fine-dining restaurants before falling in love with the dirtier side of cooking – smoking and barbecuing. After stints at meat-centric London restaurants including Smokehouse, Pitt Cue Co and Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa, he opened Temper restaurant in 2016 and now has three in the capital.
See more of Neil Rankin’s recipes
Ingredients
For the brine
- 175g granulated sugar
- 250g salt
- 3 star anise
- 1 whole duck, about 1.2kg
For the glaze
- 100g apricot jam
- 100g cranberry sauce
- 100ml vermouth rosso
- 50ml light soy sauce
- ½ tsp ginger paste
- ½ tsp garlic paste
Step by step
Get ahead
Brine the duck up to 24 hours ahead. Remove and prepare to step 5 up to 4 hours before serving.
- To make 3 litres of brine, put 1 litre of water in a pan with the sugar, salt and star anise. Bring to the boil, stirring until dissolved. Remove from the heat and add 2 litres of cold water, so that the brine is at room temperature before use.
- Untruss your duck and lightly score the skin all over in a diamond pattern. Place upside down in a tight-fitting cooking pot and pour in as much cooled brine as is needed to cover the duck. Transfer to the fridge for at least 6 hours (but anything up to 24 hours), then place the pot on the heat, bring to a simmer and then cook for 10 minutes to just soften the skin.
- Remove from the heat, then run under cold water to refresh and cool. Drain well, then pat the skin down with kitchen paper to remove as much moisture as possible. Season with a little salt and pepper.
- Preheat the oven to 140°C, fan 120°C, gas 1. Sit the duck on a wire rack, with a roasting tin below to catch the juices, and cook for 1 hour to dry the skin and cook the duck slowly and evenly.
- Remove from the oven and leave to stand until cool, about 1 hour. Set your oven to the highest setting possible.
- Now cook the duck (again on a rack, with a roasting tin below), until the skin crisps up – about 15 minutes. If you want a well-done duck, cook for another 30 minutes with the oven turned down to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4.
- For the glaze, place all the ingredients in a pan and reduce until thick. Brush about half of the glaze onto the duck and roast for a further 10 minutes at 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4 or until sticky. Rest for at least 20 minutes before carving. Add enough water to the rest of the glaze to thin it down to a sauce consistency and warm through to serve with the duck.
