Grandma's Roast Duck

Ingredients

• 1 kg Brussels sprouts
• Salt
• 2 tbsp butter
• nutmeg
• 1 duck (about 2.5 kg)
• 2 red onions
• 2 Apples
• 1 stalk sage
• 2 sprigs Rosemary
• 4 sprigs thyme
• Salt
• Pepper
• 0.5 l broth (vegetable or poultry)
• 1 kg starchy potatoes
• Salt
• 100 g flour
• 1 tbsp potato starch
• 2 Eggs
• Salt
• nutmeg
• 3 slices white bread (or toast)
• 50 g butter
• 2 tbsp breadcrumbs

Instructions

1. 1.

   Preheat the oven to 180°C with fan and top heat.

2. 2.

   Rinse the duck inside and out under running water, pat dry. Trim the wing tips and neck, cut into large pieces. Peel and roughly cube the onions. Wash, quarter, core, and cube the apples. Add both to a bowl. Rinse, shake dry, pluck, and coarsely chop the herbs; add to the bowl and mix. Season the duck inside and out with salt and pepper and stuff it with the apple-onion mixture. Tie the opening with kitchen twine or secure with a skewer, place in a roasting tray breast side down. Pour about 500 ml water into the tray and roast for about 2 hours, basting occasionally with the drippings and turning after one hour.

3. 3.

   Meanwhile, wash the potatoes and cook them in salted water for about 25 minutes until tender. Drain, let steam off, peel, and mash with a potato ricer. Add two-thirds of the flour, starch, eggs, salt, and nutmeg; knead into a loose, workable dough, adding more flour if needed. Cut the bread into small cubes, sauté in 1 tbsp butter until golden brown, then drain on kitchen paper. Shape dumplings from the dough with floured hands, press a thumbhole into each and insert a few bread cubes, reseal and reshape.

4. 4.

   Remove the duck from the tray and strain the roasting liquid through a sieve. Skim off the fat with a small ladle and set aside. Brown the wings and neck in the pan drippings on the stove, adding 1-2 tbsp duck fat if necessary.

5. 5.

   Take the stuffing out of the duck and add it to the browned wings and neck. Simmer for about 5 minutes, deglaze with broth and the remaining roasting liquid, then let cook for about 15 minutes. Keep the duck warm in the oven at 100°C and turn on the grill just before serving if desired.

6. 6.

   Place the dumplings in boiling salted water. Cook gently over low heat for about 20 minutes. In a small pot, melt the remaining butter with breadcrumbs until lightly browned; remove from heat.

7. 7.

   Wash, trim, and cross-slice the Brussels sprouts along the stem side. Boil in salted water for about 10 minutes until just tender.

8. 8.

   Strain the sauce through a sieve and season with salt and pepper.

9. 9.

   Lift the Brussels sprouts with a slotted spoon, drain, and toss in hot butter. Season with salt and nutmeg, arrange on a platter with the dumplings, drizzle with breadcrumb butter, place the duck in the center, and serve the sauce separately.