Name: Roast Duck with Apple and Prune Stuffing (Entenbraten)
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 110 min
Total time: 150 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: German
Ingredients: 1 duck, oven-ready (about 2 kg; a larger duck needs longer (3 kg about 3 hours)); 1 tbsp salt (rub inside and out); pepper (to taste); 2 onions; 2 apples; 1 duck liver (if included, otherwise omit); 2 tsp dried mugwort; 3 tbsp breadcrumbs; 75 g prunes; 2 tsp mustard; 2 tsp sugar; 0.5 tsp salt; 1 pinch pepper; 1 pinch cayenne pepper; 1 litre water, boiling; 1 bunch fresh mugwort; 2 apples, roughly chopped; 1 onion, roughly chopped; 3 sage leaves; 100 ml port (for basting); 1 tbsp honey (to brush on at the end); 1 tbsp potato starch (mixed with cold water, to thicken)

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Pat the duck dry thoroughly inside and out and rub with salt and pepper.
For the stuffing, roughly dice the onions, apples and liver and mix with the mugwort, breadcrumbs, prunes, mustard, sugar, salt, pepper and cayenne.
Fill the duck cavity with the stuffing and close the opening with skewers or kitchen string.
Place the duck breast side down in a roasting tin, add the bunch of mugwort and pour in the boiling water. Braise covered in the oven for 1 hour; as soon as the duck starts to release fat and roast, add the chopped apples, onion and sage to the tin.
Turn the duck over, remove the lid and roast for another hour. Baste from time to time with a mixture of port and water or the roasting juices and skim off the fat that has run out. Finally, brush with honey.
Take the duck out and keep it warm. Pour the cooking liquid through a sieve, bring to the boil and thicken with the potato starch stirred into cold water; season with salt and pepper. Boiled potatoes and Brussels sprouts go well with it.

Drink with it

Red wine · excellent match
Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), dry, with some maturity
Fine acidity and red fruit cut through the duck fat and suit the prune and the port sauce.
Which wine pairs with food? A simple approach to choosing
Dark beer · excellent match
Dark lager or Märzen
Roasted malt mirrors the crisp skin and the brown sauce, and the carbonation refreshes between the rich bites.
Which beer goes with food? More than just pils with barbecue
Fruit brandy · excellent match
Plum brandy (Zwetschgenwasser) or Williams pear brandy, neat and not too cold, after the meal
Plum brandy or Williams after a rich roast is the classic digestif; its fruit carries on the apple and prune of the stuffing.
What is Calvados? Apple brandy with origin
White wine · good match
Riesling Spätlese, off-dry
Apple fruit and light residual sugar accompany the stuffing, and the acidity keeps the fat in check.

Why it pairs well

The fruit brandy is not a table drink but the usual schnapps after the rich roast; it picks up the fruit of the stuffing.

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Pat the duck dry thoroughly inside and out and rub with salt and pepper.
For the stuffing, roughly dice the onions, apples and liver and mix with the mugwort, breadcrumbs, prunes, mustard, sugar, salt, pepper and cayenne.
Fill the duck cavity with the stuffing and close the opening with skewers or kitchen string.
Place the duck breast side down in a roasting tin, add the bunch of mugwort and pour in the boiling water. Braise covered in the oven for 1 hour; as soon as the duck starts to release fat and roast, add the chopped apples, onion and sage to the tin.
Turn the duck over, remove the lid and roast for another hour. Baste from time to time with a mixture of port and water or the roasting juices and skim off the fat that has run out. Finally, brush with honey.
Take the duck out and keep it warm. Pour the cooking liquid through a sieve, bring to the boil and thicken with the potato starch stirred into cold water; season with salt and pepper. Boiled potatoes and Brussels sprouts go well with it.

Drink with it

Red wine · excellent match
Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), dry, with some maturity
Fine acidity and red fruit cut through the duck fat and suit the prune and the port sauce.
Which wine pairs with food? A simple approach to choosing
Dark beer · excellent match
Dark lager or Märzen
Roasted malt mirrors the crisp skin and the brown sauce, and the carbonation refreshes between the rich bites.
Which beer goes with food? More than just pils with barbecue
Fruit brandy · excellent match
Plum brandy (Zwetschgenwasser) or Williams pear brandy, neat and not too cold, after the meal
Plum brandy or Williams after a rich roast is the classic digestif; its fruit carries on the apple and prune of the stuffing.
What is Calvados? Apple brandy with origin
White wine · good match
Riesling Spätlese, off-dry
Apple fruit and light residual sugar accompany the stuffing, and the acidity keeps the fat in check.

Why it pairs well

The fruit brandy is not a table drink but the usual schnapps after the rich roast; it picks up the fruit of the stuffing.

Roast Duck with Apple and Prune Stuffing (Entenbraten)

Preparation

Drink with it

Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), dry, with some maturity

Dark lager or Märzen

Plum brandy (Zwetschgenwasser) or Williams pear brandy, neat and not too cold, after the meal

Riesling Spätlese, off-dry

This pairs well too.

Roast Goose (Gänsebraten)

Hungarian Goulash

Duck Breast with Honey and Mustard

Goose Legs with Apple Red Cabbage (Gänsekeulen mit Apfelrotkohl)

Roast Duck with Apple and Prune Stuffing (Entenbraten)

Preparation

Drink with it

Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), dry, with some maturity

Dark lager or Märzen

Plum brandy (Zwetschgenwasser) or Williams pear brandy, neat and not too cold, after the meal

Riesling Spätlese, off-dry

This pairs well too.

Roast Goose (Gänsebraten)

Hungarian Goulash

Duck Breast with Honey and Mustard

Goose Legs with Apple Red Cabbage (Gänsekeulen mit Apfelrotkohl)