Duck is rubbed with a sesame oil and a tea infused spice rub and then roasted in a hot oven till crispy and delicious. I’ve never been a huge fan of Duck, but my husband used to eat this when he lived briefly in Pondicherry India. The last time he brought home a whole duck, my freezer stopped working overnight and the bird had to be tossed. I for one, thought this was a sign.

Years later he brought home another duck and I chanted ‘a duck is no different than cooking a chicken’ Turns out there are many differences but it’s easy all the same. A duck takes a longer time to cook and is generally tougher than Chicken.

To me, the reward lies in the ample amount of duck fat that can be collected and reused in other dishes.

I was intrigued by Jamie Oliver’s Assam Duck and used that as the inspiration for this recipe. Even though I’m a coffee drinker myself, we always have plenty of varieties of tea at home and I found a nice loose leaf Chinese tea that worked well in this recipe against the 5 spice powder.

I also enhanced the duck fat with spices like Star Anise and Cinnamon and some fresh garlic.

Tea Roasted Duck

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 4.4 lbs – 2 kgs whole Duck
  • Sesame Oil

Spice Rub

  • 1 tsp loose leaf Tea
  • 2 tsps Asian 5 spice powder
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 tsp Pepper

For Duck Fat

  • 2 – 3 Star Anise
  • 2 inches Cinnamon
  • 5 Garlic cloves

Gravy

  • 1/4 cup Green Pepper
  • 1/4 cup Onions
  • 1/4 cup Mushrooms
  • 3 – 4 slices of Ginger and
  • 2 -3 slices Mandarins
  • 1 tsp Tea steeped in 1/2 cup Water
  • 1 – 2 tsps Cornstarch slurry

Potatoes

  • 2 cups cubed Potatoes

Instructions
 

  • Prepare the spice rub by crushing the tea with your fingers and adding the rest of the ingredients
  • Make sure the Duck is dry and score the breast in a crosshatch pattern
  • Score the legs as well
  • Drizzle some sesame oil over it followed by the spice run and coat the entire bird
  • Place the bird over a trivet in a roasting pan
  • Add the star anise, cinnamon and garlic to the base of the pan so it flavours the duck fat
  • Roast in a preheated oven for 1 hr and 20 mins
  • Remove and drain out the duck fat and keep aside
  • Add the green pepper, onion, mushrooms, ginger and mandarin to the base or the pan and return to the oven for another 40 mins
  • In a pan add some of the duck fat and cook the cubed potatoes till golden brown
  • Once cooked keep the bird aside and transfer all the veg to a pan with the liquid, add the tea and squeeze the mandarin juice and heat an then ad the cornstarch slurry