Christmas Centrepieces: Delicious Duck
If you’ve chosen to buy your Christmas duck from Eversfield Organic this year, then you’re already off to a great start. All our ducks are 100% organic, free-range and slow grown to produce a lovely, succulent alternative to the classic choice of turkey. By purchasing a premium organic duck, you’ve already taken a step in the right direction to a show-stopping Christmas table centrepiece.
Where Do Our Ducks Come From?
Our organic ducks are provided by a friend of the farm, Ross, who raises free-range birds on his East Devon farm. Located in Honiton, the small flocks are provided with open fields to roam and forage allowing for a totally organic and natural development. The rolling Blackdown Hills overlooking the river Otter are the perfect backdrop for slow growing plump, well-fed duck that is sure to impress Christmas dinner guests.
How to Store Your Duck
To make sure your meat is as fresh as possible, be sure to refrigerate as soon as it arrives at your door!
- Firstly, we support free-range birds so take it out of the box and open the bag. This ensures air can circulate around the centrepiece.
- Next, remove giblets from the bird, ensuring you store the meat and giblets separately in the fridge on clean plates.
- Lastly, be sure to set your fridge to 1-3 degrees to keep your bird perfectly chilled! This may however affect other produce in your fridge.
Meaty Tip: As much as your roasted meat is likely to steal the show, to ensure all your trimmings stay delicious through to Christmas Day, we recommend freezing them as soon as they arrive and defrosting thoroughly before cooking. This is particularly important for sausages, sausage meat, mince and chicken.
Recipe: Organic Christmas Duck
Similar to cooking a Turkey, weigh your duck to find the perfect timing. Preheat the oven to 220°C / 200°C fan / gas mark 7.
|
Weight (kg) |
Time (hrs’ mins) |
|
1.5 |
1’20 |
|
2 |
1’40 |
|
2.5 |
2’ |
|
3 |
2’20 |
- Firstly, pat the skin of the duck dry and then season generously with salt and a pinch of black pepper.
- Place on a rack in a roasting tin and roast uncovered for 20 minutes. Then lower the heat to 180°C / 160°C fan / gas mark 4 and cook for a further 20 minutes per 500g.
- To check the duck is cooked, piece with a sharp knife. If the juices run clear, the bird is fully cooked.
- Once finished cooking, place some foil over the duck and allow to rest for 20 minutes before carving.
Leftover ideas…
This festive season may be different in more ways than one, but Christmas dinner leftovers are always inevitable. After all, Christmas only comes once a year so why not indulge? This year is as good as any to break a few festive traditions, so leave behind those meaty sandwiches and bubble & squeak in favour of something a little different.
From Sticky Wings to Boxing Day Risotto, we’ve collected some of the best (and most unique) recipes to make use of those leftovers – we’ve even accounted for leftover pudding and drinks too. To read the full article, head to our Christmas Leftovers blogpost. You never know – your new Christmas tradition might be waiting for you.
