Tea Leaf Crispy Duck & Gravy

What you’ll need

▪Whole duck (cleaned & dry)

▪2 tea bags (I used PG tips)

▪½ tsp of dried cinnamon, ginger, black pepper & sea salt

▪Olive oil

▪2 medium carrots (peeled & chopped)

▪1 large red onion (peeled & cut in to quarters)

▪Bulb of garlic (peeled & chopped in half)

▪4 potatoes (peeled & cut in to chunks)

▪Fresh knob of ginger (optional; peeled and cut in to strands)

▪1 heaped tsp of flour

▪300ml hot water

▪1tbsp soy sauce

▪1tsp of honey

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Method

-preheat oven to 180c

-Score the skin of your duck in a criss cross pattern making sure you don’t cut deep into the duck flesh (this will ensure a crispy skin).

-Create the dry rub by opening a tea bag and emptying the leaves in a small bowl, add the cinnamon, ginger, black pepper & sea salt. Combine together.

– Drizzle some olive oil on to your duck, time to get those hands dirty. Sprinkle the tea leaf mix over your duck and rub those flavours all over, ensure you get under the cuts you made in the skin.

-Place your dry rubbed up duck in a large roasting tray (we’ll be adding veggies with the duck later so make sure it’s bigger than your duck). Place in oven for 1 hour & 20mins.

-Take duck out of the oven & drain away the juice. (I highly suggest draining it in to a freezable container along with some rosemary & use as stock for future dishes)

– Time to add those veggies with your duck.  Ensure that your vegetables get a good coating of the duck fat from your roasting tray. Sit your duck on top of veggies, keep potatoes around the duck to ensure even cooking. Place back in to oven for 40 mins.

-Your duck and potatoes are now cooked! Remove them from the roasting tray to rest. leave the carrots, onion and garlic in the tray. Time to make a gravy!

– place roasting tray on the hob on medium heat. Add fresh ginger if using, along with flour and give it a really good stir. In 300ml of boiled water,  steep another tea bag for about 2 minutes.

-Add the soy sauce to the tray, mixing and scraping any flavour from bottom of tray. Now add the brewed tea. Bring to the boil, drizzle with honey & stir till gravy like consistency.

Your crispy duck, tasty potatoes & delicious gravy are all now ready to be reunited together on your plate!

Now try not to Sue us for the implosion of those tastebuds 😉