Andesteg (Roast Duck with Apples and Prunes)
This roast duck is incredibly juicy and flavorful, and the apple and prune stuffing adds a wonderful sweet and fresh balance! Make this for Christmas and it will certainly be a hit!
Ingredients
- 1 Whole duck, ~6lbs (if you have a smaller duck, just make sure to adjust the total roasting time!)
- 15 whole dried prunes
- 3 small apples (or 2 large)
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- 3-4 Fresh rosemary sprigs (optional)
- 3-4 Fresh (or dried) bay leaves (optional)
- 2 cups water (for the bottom of the roasting pan)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven on convection roast to 325F (160C).
- Prepare your duck by removing it from the packaging and removing any interior bags as well as the duck neck (you may have to cut the neck off if it is still attached). Save these for making duck gravy!
- Pat the duck dry. Chop apples into slices.
- Stuff the duck with the prunes and apples, as well as the rosemary sprigs and the bay leaves (this is optional but adds a nice aroma!)
- Season the exterior of the duck well with salt and pepper. We keep it very simple, but feel free to add other seasonings if you like!
- Place the duck in a roasting pan (preferably with a grate so that it is elevated off the bottom) and add about 2 cups of water to the bottom to catch any drippings. Make sure that you are roasting the duck with the duck breasts up (speaking from experience here lol) so that the skin on it gets nice and crispy!
- Roast for around 2 hours (make sure to adjust the total roasting temperature if you have a smaller duck! The cooking time is approximately 20-25 minutes per pound)- we check it every so often to make sure the water at the bottom hasn't evaporated (be sure to replace any water to prevent the drippings from burning to the bottom of the pan), and you can also baste the duck if you want! Begin checking the internal temperature. Since this is a whole duck, we are aiming for reaching an internal temp of 165F (~74C).
- Once your duck has finished roasting, let it rest for about 20 minutes. Remove the interior stuffing of apples and prunes; if you are serving this immediately, you can carve into pieces and serve (the apples and prunes are a must eat as well!)
- If you are preparing this ahead of time for Christmas dinner (which is how we do it, since we need the oven for other food!), you can place the prunes and apples in a dish, then remove as much meat as possible from the duck and place over the apples and prunes. Let it cool and then store in the fridge until ready to reheat and serve!
