When I was buying a Gressingham duck crown in my local butchers Marriotts on Saturday (this is a real butchers not the fictional one in The Hairdresser’s Tale ,although it is in same street in the same village) I overheard a lady behind me saying “I wouldn’t have the faintest idea how to cook that!” Well, Mrs Furbelow, as promised, here’s a really easy recipe. It only takes about 20 minutes to prepare and is well worth the effort. I cooked it yesterday for Sunday lunch and, even though it was in the oven for longer than planned owing to a quick dog walk turning into a long trek involving a pulsating marsh and a tale of near fatal shooting (about which there’s no time to expound today), it was still absolutely delicious…

Ingredients:

Duck crown (or 4 duck breasts)

2 tablespoons oil

1 red onion (chopped)

1 cup cranberries (fresh or frozen)

1 tablespoon plain flour

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar)

Quarter cup red wine

Juice & zest of 1 orange (or 2 tablespoons orange juice)

I brown stock cube dissolved in a cup of boiling water

Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 220° C

Dry the duck crown thoroughly. Heat oil in a pan until smoking hot the fry the duck crown in the ready heated pan until the skin is well browned and crispy – even a little burnt! Move the duck crown to an oven proof dish. Put in the centre/top of the oven (cooking time 5 minutes for every 100g if you want the meat still pink, up to double that if you want it well done – if you’re using duck breasts halve the time).

Remove most of the fat from the pan you crisped the duck in and fry the onion over a high heat until caramelised. Add the cranberries until they pop then add a table spoon of plain flour – stir to cook. Add the brown stock, honey, balsamic vinegar, red wine and orange juice & zest. Cook, stirring, until thickened, then pour all over your duck crown and cook for the remaining time.

When cooked, take out of the oven and rest for 10 minutes before serving.