Title: Pomegranate-Glazed Duckling on Dried-Fruit Couscous
Categories: Insert
Yield: 4 Servings
| 5 | lb | Duckling |
| 3 | c | Water |
| 1 | md | Onion; quartered |
| 1 | lg | Carrot; peeled and halved |
| 3/4 | ts | Salt |
| 1 | | Bay leaf |
| 1/4 | c | Strawberry jelly; or red currant jelly |
| 16 | oz | Pomegranates; juiced (2/3 cup) |
| 3 | tb | Sugar |
| | | Dried-fruit couscous; *see recipe |
| 1/4 | c | Dry red wine |
| 2 | tb | Cornstarch |
| | | Fresh mint sprigs; optional |
Recipe by: Country Living Magazine, October 1994 1. Remove giblets and neck
from duckling. Remove and discard excess fat from inside body cavity. Cut
off and discard excess neck skin. Rinse duckling, giblets, and neck in cold
water and pat dry with paper towels. Cut off and reserve first 2 joints of
the wings, leaving only the third. To cut duckling into quarters, using
poultry shears, cut duckling lengthwise in half through the breastbone and
continue cutting along one side of the backbone; cut duckling halves in
half crosswise. 2. Coat bottom of 5-quart kettle or Dutch oven with
nonstick vegetable cooking spray. Add giblets, neck, and reserved wing
tips to kettle and cook until well browned. Add duckling quarters, water,
onion, carrot, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the bay leaf. Cover and heat to
boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until
duckling is fork-tender - about 1 hour. (If preparing ahead, remove
duckling from kettle, cool, wrap, and refrigerate. Strain cooking liquid,
discarding fat and cooked particles. Refrigerate liquid, or duck stock.) 3.
Just before roasting duckling, prepare pomegranate glaze: In 1-quart
saucepan, heat jelly until melted. Stir in pomegranate juice and sugar and
heat to boiling over high heat. Boil mixture 5 minutes; remove from heat
and set aside. 4. Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Remove duckling from kettle
and place, skin side up, on rack in roasting pan. (If duck breasts have
curled up after boiling, remove their breast bones so they will be flat.)
Roast duckling 15 minutes. 5. Meanwhile, pour duck stock through large
strainer into bowl, discarding cooked particles. Remove excess fat from
stock. Reserve 1 cup stock for the sauce and 2 cups stock for Dried-Fruit
Couscous; refrigerate remainder for another use. 6. Brush duckling with
some glaze and roast 5 minutes; roast duckling 10 more minutes or until
well browned, brushing 3 more times with glaze. Prepare Dried-Fruit
Couscous; keep warm. Set duckling quarters aside. 7. Prepare sauce: In
cup, combine wine and cornstarch until smooth. Stir reserved 1 cup stock
and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt into glaze remaining in saucepan. Heat to
boiling and stir in cornstarch mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until
thickened. Pour sauce into serving bowl. 8. Spoon Dried-Fruit Couscous
onto serving plate. Arrange duckling on couscous. Garnish with mint, if
desired. Serve duckling and couscous with sauce.