Duck with Wine & Cherries
Rich and flavorful, with a cherry wine sauce, Duck with Wine & Cherries is easy to make and good enough for a special occasion.
I hesitated to include this recipe in my blog. After all, duck isn’t an everyday menu item.
But I had the ducks. Gifted to me by my brother from some trading he did with a game farm (you gotta know my brother…). So either way, I was going to test a recipe. 
I searched the internet and ended up at Hunter Angler Gardener Cook. Their recipe sounded good, but I didn’t have the grapes. Or the shallots. And did I mention I was out of thyme?
Are you still in “don’t go to the grocery store” mode? I try to shop every two weeks—and even then, by curbside pickup if possible. This meant no running to the store for my missing ingredients. In the end, I found substitutes and… still delicious! 
The flavor of duck is very rich–and the wine and cherry sauce was a perfect compliment. I couldn’t believe I got so much flavor by throwing a few ingredients in the bottom of a braiser, plopping a couple ducks on top and roasting. 
I had left the duck sitting in the freezer for far too long because I was too intimidated to find a recipe–silly me. Fortunately, they weren’t freezer burned! It’s just another testament to not letting doubt get the better of you!
But success of my Duck with Wine & Cherries meant I really did have a problem. If I didn’t blog the recipe, I’d lose it. And in that case, my brother would be by again next year with more duck. Isn’t that how life works?
In the end, I decided to post it (obviously 🙂 ). Because truly, it was so good, that now I’m going to need to go out and find some more duck myself. 
Duck with Wine & Cherries
Ingredients
- 2 whole small wild ducks or 1 large wild or a domestic duck
- Salt
- 2 cups pitted cherries about 8 ounces
- One large onion coarsely chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 8 sprigs of marjoram
- 1 cup duck or chicken stock
- 1 cup red wine
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Rub salt into the duck skin. Put the remaining ingredients into the bottom of a heavy pot with a lid, like a braiser or Dutch oven, then set the ducks on top. Cover the pot and roast in the oven for 90 minutes.
- Uncover the pot and continue roasting to let the sauce reduce and the duck skin crisp up. Mine took about 45 minutes, but the original recipe says it may be as quick as 15 for very lean ducks, so check early and watch carefully.
- Slice the ducks in half lengthwise and set onto four plates. Remove the bay leaves and marjoram stems, them spoon a generous portion of sauce next to each duck half. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
I had my first dental cleaning today since COVID turned everything upside-down. It was nerve racking but they went through extreme measures to keep things disinfected. I love how this looks and sound so elegant but so easy to make!
I have a cleaning in two weeks. My teeth need it so bad, I wasn’t going to put it off. Glad to hears yours went well.
Ohhh those cherries would give it a nice contrast in flavours. Love it
II was happy too get such a good compliment actually by accident!
I don’t have whole or half ducks in my freezer but I do have duck breasts in my freezer. I love duck and whenever I see it on a menu, I usually order it. Yours sounds delicious.
I don’t find duck on the menu nearly as often as I’d like Karen…
I would love duck as a gift. This is a signature dish of a local restaurant, in pie form. I’m shopping more often now as our shops are super vigilant and the wearing of masks is compulsory.
I need to do more savory pies. I love the idea! Right now, it is too hot here–I think we’re headed to a record summer. But it sounds so cozy for winter, I’ll have to make a note!
Like you, I shop every two weeks… (with the exception of my green grocery pick up at the farmers market every week). That means I run out of all sorts of things during the fortnight (I am very much enjoying using the term “fortnight“) and have to make substitutions. Yours here are brilliant, and I can only imagine how wonderful it tastes. I have duck breasts in the freezer, and I also have frozen cherries so I could put this together pretty easily. It’s amazing what unusual things we have in our freezer sometimes, isn’t it? I also found I have two pheasants waiting to be used. I wonder when they’re going to show up on the blog.
Here you go David https://artofnaturalliving.com/2018/12/20/festive-cider-cornish-hen/, a recipe I made first with pheasant and then Cornish Hen when the pheasant ran out :). Yes, the pandemic does have us all pushing the cooking envelope!
Thanks for the recipe! Came back to say, the duck is going into the skillet in 10 minutes! Thanks for our Sunday dinner inspiration!
This sounds and looks absolutely delicious.
Thanks! Yes, now I just need to figure out where to get more duck!