Welcome to Christmas Eve! With our recipe for duck roast, you're all set for Christmas Dinner, Danish style. Note that the recipe is a bit longer than usual, and that it's designed to feed 4 adults and 2 kids – provided you're having a second main as well, such as ham. Save the leftover duck and potatoes for yummy duck meatballs tomorrow.

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees fan assisted. Boil the baby potatoes for browning until tender in a pot of lightly salted water, rinse with cold water and let cool. Scrape off the peels and set aside. Peel the other spuds, cover with cold water in a pot and set aside.

2. Mix salt and some freshly cracked pepper in a cup. Wash the apples, remove the cores and cut into wedges. Mix with prunes and brown sugar in a bowl. If you have ground or fresh ginger, you can mix a bit of that in – but it's by no means necessary.

3. Remove the bag of innards from the duck, and cut the outermost wing joint off the birdy. Place the wing joint and the neck from the bag in a clean sheet pan, and bin the rest of the innards. Thoroughly pat dry the duck with some kitchen roll on both the inside and outside, and rub all over with the salt mix – inside and out. Stuff the duck with apples and prunes and close it up with meat pins or string. Place the duck on a grate and place into the oven, so the duck is roughly in the middle of the oven. Pop the sheet pan with the neck and wings underneath, to collect the fat drippings. Remember to wash hands and utensils!

4. We recommend using a meat thermometer. The core temperature of the cooked duck should be at least 75 degrees. Do be aware, that the duck meat will have a different colour depending on which part of the duck it's from. It's okay for some of it to be faintly pink. Bear in mind that the thermometer shouldn't be touching any bones of the duck – you won't be able to count on the temperature if it does.

5. Cook the duck at 250 degrees for 20 minutes. Lower the hear to 150 degrees and add 1 liter of boiling water to the sheet pan beneath the duck. Cook the duck for another 2 hours. Add another 500 ml after about an hour.

6. Remove the duck and run the roasting juices from the sheet pan through a sieve, and into a white plastic bowl or clear glass bowl – this'll make it easier to spot what's fat, and what's juices. Bin what's left in the sieve. Leave the juices to stand for a bit, so the fat separates from the juices – you can pop the bowl outside to speed up the process.

7. After a while the fat will float to the top. Now use a ladle to skim off the fat. We suggest freezing it in a plastic container – it's great for frying!

8. Add the juices to a pot – you should be left with about a liter. Add cream and heat up. Thicken with corn flour mixed with water, and keep in mind that the gravy will thicken more as it boils. Season to taste with duck stock, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and an optional dash of honey. Add gravy browning until the gravy has your preferred colour. Lower the heat all the way, and leave the gravy to gently simmer while you get the rest ready.

9. Crank the oven up to 250 degrees fan assisted. Brush the duck with ice cold water and sprinkle with a bit of extra salt. Roast for another 15 minutes – until the skin is beautifully brown, and the juices run golden. Remember to keep an eye on the duck so it doesn't blacken! Remove the duck from the oven and let it rest.

10. Cook the white potatoes in salted water.

11. Add the brown sugar to a cold pan and let it melt over low heat, without stirring – do keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn! Now add the butter and stir well. Once even, add the baby potatoes and up the heat a little bit, while you gently stir to evenly disperse the sugar. After 5-10 minutes, the sugar will start to stick to the spuds, and they'll be done.

12. Warm up the red cabbage, carve the duck and serve with plenty of gravy, while you crank up the Christmas tunes. Enjoy – and a very happy Christmas!

Tip

The recipe is designed for 4 adults and 2 kids, if you're having another main as well – such as ham – and dessert. In that case, there should be plenty of duck left over for the following day. If you're not sure it'll be enough, get a second duck or a few duck breasts. Plan out at least four hours to get this dinner ready.