This week's recipe is cribbed from this one at epicurious.com, but modified to use the ingredients I had on hand. It uses one of my favorite ingredients in wild game cooking, juniper berries, so I had to try it. If you can't find juniper berries, try a specialty store or bulk foods retailer online- they are worth seeking out!
First, macerate the dried fruit in the brandy to soften.
Then make the juniper broth by boiling 15 of the juniper berries in 2 c. water.
Season inside and out with salt, pepper, thyme. Place about 5 juniper berries in cavity of duck, and all but one of the lemon slices.
Put duck in oven for 30 mins.
Add one lemon slice and macerated fruit to broth and steep. Reserve brandy for later!
Place giblets and heart (I cooked the liver separately- a special treat just fo me) in the broth and boil. When cooked through, remove and dice finely.
After 30 mins, remove duck from oven and pour half of the broth over top. Try to reserve as much fruit as possible.
Turn duck over so breast side is down.
Bake for another 30 mins, then remove and pour remaining liquid broth over top (still reserving fruit).
Turn duck again so breast side is up.
Bake for 30 mins until done.
Remove duck from oven to rest and pour off pan juices (separate as much duck fat as possible- keep that for some other use!). Combine juices with reserved fruit, brandy, and diced giblets. Add water if necessary. Bring to a boil and add sherry. Turn heat to medium-low.
Make a slurry with a couple tablespoons of flour and water in a separate dish. Add slowly to juices to thicken. Keep stirring or your gravy will burn or get lumpy.
Meanwhile, summon the house butcher to carve the bird.
Plate and serve with gravy. I added herb-roasted redskin potatoes and broccoli. Roasted brussel sprouts would be great with this also.
This reminds me that I have a duck in the freezer that needs to be cooked. I never can find juniper berries around here, so I'll have to look online, because I have several recipes that use them!