From Chef Erick Loos at La Provence
Serves 6

It’s really important to find big, six-pound ducks to roast and well worth placing a special order with your butcher. When I roast smaller ducks, I find the breasts have a tendency to turn tough and dry. Not good. You know the duck is perfectly cooked when you’re able to grab the drumstick with a kitchen towel and twist it with relative ease.

2 6-pound ducks
Salt
1 quart Steen’s cane syrup
1 onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 carrot, diced

For the sauce:
¼ onion, diced
¼  cup rice wine vinegar
¼  cup sugar
1 quart duck stock (directions below)
1 cup peach preserves
1 pinch salt
1 sprig thyme, chopped

The night before, generously salt the ducks and place in the refrigerator. The next day, remove and rinse with water.  Add the cane syrup to 1 gallon of water and bring to a boil.  Place one duck at a time inside and boil for 12 minutes. Place the ducks on a roasting rack breast side up in a roasting pan.

Preheat the oven to 350˚. Roast, turning every 30 minutes until the skin turns black and the leg bones turn with ease, about 1 ½  hours. Allow the ducks to cool and then cut away the breasts and legs.

For the stock, place the remainder of the ducks in a pot with 1 gallon of water, onion, celery and carrots. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 2 hours. Remove from heat and strain through a sieve and reserve for the sauce. Save about 2 cups of the stock to re-warm the duck before serving.

In a sauce pan over medium heat, sauté the onions until soft.  Stir in the sugar, vinegar, preserves and reserved quart of stock. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until reduced by three-fourths; it should be glossy and slightly thick.

Preheat the oven to 350˚. Pour the reserved duck stock into the pan to cover the bottom and place the breast and legs on top.  Heat for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the rest of the sauce on the crisped skin. Serve with Perfect Mashed Potatoes.

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