I came up with this to be the first recipe made in the beautiful Le Creuset dutch oven Andy gave me for my birthday.
1 dressed duckling, brined overnight in salt water,
2 large white onions, sliced
4 large oranges (reserve ½ orange, juice 3½)
1 tbs orange zest
2 tbs orange liqueur
½ cup chicken broth
kosher salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes
1 head of garlic, peeled
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh lavender
1 sprig fresh sage
Remove duck from broth. Trim fat pad from main cavity, and set it aside. Pat duck dry, rub with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Stuff cavity with ½ white onion (sliced), garlic, ½ orange (sliced), and herbs. Set stuffed duck aside.
In a gorgeous, cobalt blue Le Creuset dutch oven, render the duck fat slowly over medium heat. If the fat is not available, just use olive oil. Saute remaining onions in the duck fat. Add orange zest and stir until fragrant. Add orange juice, liqueur, broth, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine, and simmer until reduced by about half.
Wiggle the duck into the orange liquid and onions. Spoon some of the mixture on top of the duck.
Raw duck in roasting pan.
Cover tightly and cook at 350ºF for 1.5 hour until the bird reaches an internal temperature of about 150ºF. Remove lid, crank heat to 500ºF and brown for approximately 15 minutes. The final temperature should be around 170ºF before resting. Remove from heat, cover, and allow to sit for around 10 minutes before carving.
I’m serving this with seared brussel sprouts and basmati rice.
Not The Knowing One 
