Duck with Orange Sauce

Duck with orange sauce, or duck à l'orange, is a French classic that is simple to make and delicious.

Rather than wrestle with a whole duck, this recipe uses duck breasts, for quick and easy cooking.

The orange sauce for duck breast is also equally good with chicken or other game birds.

It's ready for serving in less than 30 minutes., so no slaving away in the kitchen!

Perfect for entertaining or a special dinner at home, this dish is a family favourite, that I hope you love as much as I do!

Bon appétit!   

Duck à l'orange is classic that was extremely popular in restaurants in the UK in the 70's and 80's and is still very popular today.

Duck breast is a popular cut of meat in France, and it's still regularly on the menu in restaurants. It's often served carved in slices with a rich peppercorn sauce, an orange sauce or a creamy mushroom sauce.

This is a great dish for entertaining, as you can make the orange sauce in advance and just reheat before serving.

And, of course, you will also have a good amount of duck fat left over. Perfect for cooking your roast potatoes or why not make duck confit with confit potatoes or sarladaise potatoes?

❤️ Why you will love this dish

• Ready in just 30 minutes.
• Elegant entertaining idea.
• Easy to cook.
• Prepare the orange sauce for duck breast in advance.

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🥘 Ingredients

• Duck - boneless duck breasts with an excess overhanging skin trimmed. Sometimes duck breast are large enough to feed 2, so slice in half lengthways if you prefer.
• Salt - flaked sea salt.
• Pepper - freshly ground black pepper.
• Wine - dry white wine, such as a Sauvignon Blanc.
• Orange - Seville oranges or other variety.
• Lemon
• Sugar - white granulated sugar.
• Vinegar - apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar.
• Brandy
• Cornflour - or cornstarch.

The printable recipe card with full ingredient quantities and instructions can be found at the bottom of the article.

🍽 Equipment

• Frying pan / skillet
• Saucepan
• Wooden spoon
• Sharp knife

🔪 Instructions

Pat the duck breast dry with kitchen paper. This will help it to brown and crisp up.

Use a sharp knife to score the fat diagonally, both ways. Try to avoid cutting the flesh. This helps to get the heat to the fat quickly, to get a golden and crispy skin.

Season both sides with the salt and pepper.

💭 Top Tip - How to salt meat before cooking

There's a lot to be said about the timing for salting meat before it is cooked.

• If it is salted an hour before cooking the moisture is drawn out by the salt, but is then reabsorbed, so the meat stays moist while it is cooking.
• If the meat is salted 15 minutes before cooking, for example, because you are preparing something at the same time, then the moisture escapes from the meat and it will be dry when cooked.
• To avoid doubt, generously salt the meat just before it goes in the pan, under the grill, (broiler), or on the grill.

Put the duck breast skin down in a cold frying pan.

Cook over a medium to high heat for about 5 minutes, until the skin is crispy and golden brown.

Turn the fillets over and cook for 1-2 minutes until all sides are seared.

💭 Top tip

• Duck breasts vary in size and thickness so it is easier to use a meat thermometer to gauge when the meat is cooked to your liking. It should be about 140°F / 60°C for medium and 155°F / 68°C for well done. Keep in mind that it will carry on cooking when you take it out of the oven, so check the temperature after 10 minutes of cooking.

While the duck is searing and cooking make the sauce.

Use a sharp knife to cut the rind from one of the oranges and shred it into thin strips.

Juice the oranges and the lemon.

Put the sugar and vinegar in a saucepan over a medium heat.

Stir while the sugar dissolves until the mixture turn dark brown.

Add the brandy and juice and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes

Add the orange shreds to the pan.

Mix the cornflour with the water and stir into the sauce.

Bring to the boil and cook for 3 minutes until the mixture is thickened and glossy.

Check the seasoning before serving.

Carve the duck into slices and serve with the sauce on the side.

⏲️ Cooking time

If the frying pan is ovenproof then place in a preheated oven at 200 C/400 F/180 FAN/Gas 6 for 12 - 15 minutes for a medium roast.

Otherwise, transfer the duck to an ovenproof dish.

When the duck has finished cooking, loosely cover with foil and let it rest in a warm place for 5-10 minutes.

This allows the juices to be absorbed into the meat and makes it really easy to carve.

🥗 Side dishes

Duck with orange sauce is best served with vegetables and potatoes that aren't in a sauce.

Try these side dishes:

• French peas with lettuce
• Potatoes Parisienne
• Honey glazed carrots
• Cavolo Nero Kale
• Braised red cabbage
• Crispy smashed potatoes
• Potatoes Rissolé
• Potatoes Boulangère
• Roast Savoy Cabbage
• Green Beans Almondine
• Celeriac Purée
• French Peas
• Chateau Potatoes

🥙 Substitutions

• Alcohol - if you prefer not to use the brandy or wine then replace the liquid with chicken stock.
• Vinegar - white wine vinegar can be used instead.

📖 Variations

• Chicken - use chicken breast instead. If they are skinless they will just need a couple of minutes to sear each side before going in the oven. Check that the juices run clear before allowing them to rest.
• Lemon - swap the oranges for a lemon sauce but you may need to adjust the amount of sugar before serving.

🍣 Storage

• Refrigerator - store the duck or sauce covered for up to 5 days.
• Freezer - leftover sliced duck is perfect for using in stir fries so I like to freeze any leftover duck. Wrap well and freeze for up to 3 months. The sauce can be frozen for up to a month.
• Reheat - reheat in a frying pan or wrap loosely in foil and place in the oven at 180 C / 350 F / 160 FAN / Gas 4. Leftover duck with orange sauce is perfect with some five spice mixed in and served with rice as a fakeaway Chinese dish.

🍱 Prepare in Advance

• Make the orange sauce for the duck breast in advance. Cool, cover and refrigerate until required.

🤔 FAQs

Let me know what you think in the comments or you can post a picture and tag me on Twitter @chezlereve, Instagram @chezlerevefrancais, or Facebook @chezlerevefrancais

More duck recipes

• Duck Confit with Redcurrant sauce
• Crispy Duck Breast with Five Spice and Honey
• Confit Duck Salad with Grilled Pineapple
• Leftover Duck Soup
• Duck Terrine
• Donburi Duck

📋 Recipe

Game bird and duck recipes to try

🍲 Food Safety

• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
• Wash hands after touching raw meat.
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
• Never leave cooking food unattended.
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
• Always have good ventilation when using gas.

Do you have a question or did you make the recipe? Please leave a rating as it helps other readers to discover this dish. Your name and email are required to avoid spam comments; they are never used for any purpose or shared with third parties.

However, due to spam comments, I do have to moderate each one, so don't worry if you cannot see your comment immediately. I'll publish your comments as soon as I can.

Do you have a question or did you make the recipe? Please leave a rating as it helps other readers to discover this dish. Your name and email are required to avoid spam comments; they are never used for any purpose or shared with third parties.

However, due to spam comments, I do have to moderate each one, so don't worry if you cannot see your comment immediately. I'll publish your comments as soon as I can.