Roast Duck with Dumplings

Ingredients

• 1 duck (2.5 kg, ready to cook)
• Salt
• pepper (ground)
• 2 onions
• 1 apple
• 1 tsp marjoram (dried)
• 2 tbsp parsley (chopped)
• 20 g butter
• 250 ml poultry stock
• 4 small red apples
• 8 rolls
• 0.5 l milk
• 6 Eggs
• 80 g Butter
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp chopped parsley
• 20 g butter (for the towel)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Wash and pat dry the duck. Separate and roughly chop the wing tips. Rub the duck inside and out with salt and pepper.

2. 2.

   Peel, core, and roughly dice the onions and apple. Mix with herbs. Stuff the mixture into the duck and secure with wooden skewers. Place the duck breast-side down in a roasting pan, pour about 500 ml water, and roast at 180°C for about 2 hours until golden brown; flip after 1 hour and baste repeatedly with stock.

3. 3.

   Meanwhile prepare the towel dumplings: grate the crust of the rolls and cut them first into slices then cubes. Place in a bowl and pour milk over. Separate the eggs.

4. 4.

   Whisk butter, egg yolks, and salt until creamy. Add parsley and mix with soaked roll cubes. Combine thoroughly and let rest 10 minutes.

5. 5.

   Boil water in a large pot, add 2 tbsp salt. Steam a large towel by pouring boiling water over it and wringing out.

6. 6.

   Beat the separated egg whites stiffly and fold into the roll mixture. Spread liquid butter on the towel. Form the roll dough into an ~8 cm thick log, place on the towel center, and loosely press both sides of the towel over the dumpling roll (the dough expands when cooking). Tie the ends together with a string.

7. 7.

   Attach the towel with dumpling dough to the handle of a ladle using a string (towel opening up) and hang in boiling water.

8. 8.

   Simmer the towel dumplings for about 50 minutes. Let them rest 5 minutes before cutting.

9. 9.

   Remove duck from pan, split lengthwise, remove stuffing. Cut halves crosswise again and keep warm at 70°C. Degrease the stock. In a pot brown the wing tips in 1/2 tbsp butter, deglaze with stock, add stuffing and poultry stock, simmer 15–20 minutes. Strain sauce through a sieve into another pot, season with salt and pepper, keep warm.

10. 10.

    Wash small red apples, quarter, remove cores if needed, cut into strips. Heat remaining butter in a large pan and quickly brown apple strips on both sides; keep warm.

11. 11.

    Just before serving turn on the oven grill. Grill duck pieces skin-side up until crisp, then optionally cut smaller.

12. 12.

    Unwrap dumpling roll from towel and slice thickly.

13. 13.

    Arrange duck with sauce, apple strips, and dumpling slices on preheated plates and serve.