Roast Orange Soy And Ginger Duck For A Crowd

Our answer

Nigella's Roast Duck With Orange, Soy And Ginger (from AT MY TABLE) is a good recipe for entertaining as the two-step cooking method means that most of the hard work is done in advance. As you are cooking four individual ducks, and assuming that they are all around 1.8kg in weight, then the actual cooking time for the ducks should not change that much.

However, you will need to allow for the fact that the oven will be more crowded and this can slightly lengthen the cooking time as it will affect the flow of hot air around the oven. We would suggest trying to use two roasting tins and roast the ducks in pairs, on two separate oven shelves and switching shelves half way through the cooking time. If you have a large oven with a good fan (or convection oven) then the cooking time should be pretty much the same for both steps (using the fan oven temperature). If you have a regular oven then we suggest allowing an extra 10-15 minutes cooking time at each stage. If in doubt, use a slightly longer cooking time as it is difficult to dry out ducks due to their fat content. Make sure that the ducks are piping hot in the centre of the breast and thigh and that the skin is crisp and bronzed. The base for the sauce can be made and steeped a day ahead, then strained and stored in the fridge overnight. Add the soy sauce and warm gently before serving.