Roast Duck
In Slovenia, roast duck is traditionally served on St Martin’s day and the week after. St Martin is the patron saint of new wine, as it is believed that on his name day must turns into wine. This is the time when the harvests are ending and the days are getting shorter. The typical sides are `mlinci’ (a type of flatbread soaked in water until soft and dressed with duck juices), and stewed red cabbage.
You can read more about St Martin’s day here.
Recipe
Ingredients:
Roast Duck
1 whole duck
1 apple
spring of thyme
5 garlic cloves
Instructions:
(to be done the day before) Remove the giblets from inside the duck. Rinse the duck (inside and outside) with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels. Season the duck generously inside and out with salt and pepper. Put a sprig of thyme, a chopped up apple, and 5 crushed garlic cloves into the cavity (these will be removed at the end).
Heat the oven to 210C (400 F).
Place the duck breast side up in a large roasting pan and bake at 210C (400 F) for 20 minutes.
Lower the oven temperature to 130C (265F) and roast the duck for 40 min per kilogram of weight (for example, if the duck weighs 2 kg, roast it for 80 minutes). Baste with duck juices from the pan every 20 minutes.
Increase the temperature to 210C (400 F) and roast the duck for another 15-20min. Baste with juices from the pan every 5 minutes.
Let the duck stand for at least 10 minutes.
Strain the remaining duck juice in the pan through a mesh sieve and keep it for later.
Carve the duck and serve it with mlinci and red cabbage.