Roast Duck Leg with Blueberry Sauce

When I recently found a smart buy on duck, I thought I’d combine it with the last of summer’s fresh blueberries to create this dish especially for you. Duck takes a little while to roast, but the preparation for this showy, tasty meal is simple. If you can find duck breasts at a reasonable price, they’re a far better value - tender meat, and more of it - than the chewy legs I used. 

Roast Duck Leg with Blueberry Sauce:

2 duck breasts or legs with attached thighs, about 1-⅓ lb. (625 g)

Sea salt and coarsely ground pepper, to taste

½ c. blueberry jam

1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries, stems removed 

1-½ tsp. fresh ginger, finely chopped

1 tbsp. cornstarch or tapioca starch
2 tbsp. vermouth

Preheat oven to 325 deg. F. Prick duck randomly on both sides with a sharp paring knife. Rub all over with a combined mixture of sea salt and coarsely ground pepper. Roast skin-side up on a rack for 40-to-45 min. with a drip pan underneath. Partway through roasting, remove from oven to drain drippings. (Freeze drippings for later packaging as solid waste or for Roast Potatoes (see Index for Side Dish: Potatoes (Roast). Immediately return duck to oven to resume roasting.

To prepare blueberry sauce, combine jam, blueberries, and finely chopped ginger over very low heat, just until jam starts to liquify. Cool slightly. Combine 2 tbsp. liquid from blueberry sauce with 1 tbsp. cornstarch or tapioca starch, blending until smooth. Return starch solution to berries and liquid in skillet. Simmer 1 min. over medium-low heat. Stir in vermouth. Pour simmered berries and sauce over duck legs on serving platter. Serves 2.

Place duck on a baking rack, so fat can drain

Assemble sauce ingredients: Berries, jam, ginger

  

Stir cooled berry juice into tapioca starch,
returning to berry mixture to thicken

Ladle berries and sauce over duck leg or breast

Use leftover blueberry sauce over pancakes the
next morning - or let Ron do the “clean up”!