sweet duck legs cooked with plums and star anise

I make this recipe regularly. Works perfectly if the duck legs are fatty enough. By about 1 hour in, the tin should be swimming in duck fat.<br /> <br /> To really finish the recipe off I pop the duck legs under a hot grill, baste the skin with duck fat, and cook until they are lovely and crispy. Then I serve with shredded onion and cucumber, and wrap in pancakes or lettuce leaves. Delicious.

Throw a bit of red wine, a drop of sesame oil and two dried (diced) porcini mushrooms into the marinade. A few drops of truffle oil and baby rosemary / baby coriander well placed when you serve to add a little magic, but don't over-do it.<br /> <br /> Heaven on a stick.

The duck came out very dry and didnt quite work for me without any seasoning.

the duck came out very dry and without any seasoning didnt work very well.

Absolutely delicious - one of the tastiest meals I have ever cooked.<br /> <br /> First time I've cooked duck and first time cooking using plums!<br /> <br /> The flavors are something else. :)

Quite simply the nicest duck recipe I've tried - and the taste, the meat did fall from the bone, and was just Amazing - am making it tomorrow if I can get decent duck :)

Just …. incredible, unbelievable, etc…. Best duck recipe ever!

This recipe worked really well in a slow cooker. Just pop the duck legs in with all the other ingredients. Don't worry if it looks too dry at the start, you don't need any extra liquid. The juice from the plums and the fat from the duck skins make a lovely sauce after a couple of hours. I cooked it for 4 hours on high. The duck was very tender. I used cloves instead of star anise, just because that's what I had.

cooked this for my parents at the weekend. Pulled it out of the oven at the 2 hours and it was just starting to blacken at the edges. Still serviceable (and my victims never knew) but I'd guess 150-160c instead of 170c is best for a fan oven. I'd also add an extra TBS sugar unless the plums were very sweet to begin with.

i am 13 years old and i love to cook i live on a farm and we just butchere some muscovi ducks we have the whole duck would it be possible to cook the entire thing with this recipe?

Absolutely divine! Some people ended up with a black dried out sauce - I would recommend simply checking on the progress of the cooking periodically, as you would with any dish in the oven. Ingredients do vary depending on the source or season - if the plums are drier or the duck is fattier, you may get different results, and so checking from time to time to see if the legs are browning too quickly, and basting accordingly, adding a little bit of stock, removing excess fat, or covering for a little while to compensate will help to achieve succulent and delicious results. I also tried a variation with ripe peaches and a slice of ginger with amazing results.

this was amazing!!! so tasty and so very easy to make. check out my food blog.... http://isitworthwaitingfor.blogspot.com/2011/05/sweet-duck-legs-cooked-with-plums.html

We have used this recipe 5 or 6 times now at dinner parties for 8 or 10 and it always goes down a storm. Very much a winter dish so far as we are concerned but ideal for dinners after work as it takes so little preparation yet impresses so much. Very good in larger quantities than just 4- try doubling or tripling it. I like the cherries idea above- will try that tonight.

I've made this several times now and cook it for about 3 hours at 130 deg. The duck just falls off the bone Everyone absolutely adores it. It would be nice with many recipes given if we were given an idea of what to serve them with.

I have a whole duck arriving for christmas and was wondering if I can use this recepie?

Oh my sweet lord, I made this tonight for my chap and me and it was absolutely gorgeous! I was a bit nervous about doing it after quite a few people reported theirs turning black in the oven. My god, It turned out bloody fantastic, my feller loved it and it tasted divine! x Chuffed!
Jamie, I could kiss you man x

Going to make this tonight, have a fan oven, so I guess I cook it at 150, rather 170degs. is that why the others burnt?

i'll have a few people over for an izakaya style evening, and since is it full on summer here on the north side of our planet, i'll grill stuff. one of the things i was looking for is grilling some polenta slices and serve them asian style. i think this recipe is it, though modified as a ragu. i'll probably make it with duck i can buy already cooked at the asian supermarket. i'll stew the plums in the spice and liquids mix, add the duck meat, simmer a bit and then chill for a day so all flavors can mix. yum. thanks jamie for this recipe.

I cooked this with just 2 legs but I didn't halve the ' sauce ' ingredients. After one and a half hours I opened the oven to find a black oily mess and the burnt smell stayed in the house for a couple of days. The duck tasted fine but there was not any sauce just black oil. I don't know what I did wrong - the picture looks wonderful.

I tried this recipe today and have also ended up with a dried out black sauce. I feel like I've missed something. I noticed that the comment by Dee said she had to remove some of the sauce to reduce the amout of liquid. What liquid??? The soy and a bit of olive oil only makes 5 tbsps.

Yes you can use breast it is delicious but only cook for 12 minutes no longer as the meat needs to be pink inside!

I wrote a couple of times to you. I really admire your cooking. I wish i can be in direct contact with you where i may also send you some oriental recipes, as i live with orientals and learned nice dishes besides our French ones!

@Mary - probably because you had the fan on - can you turn the fan off? if not, then should cook in less time - tho' will taste better with no fan for longer
hope you're willing to give it another go - truly a delicious dish
dyl

Cooked this dish last night for a dinner party - fantastic!

I did brown the legs first (after marinading), although not too sure that was really necessary as not that much fat came out of them. I did cover the dish for the first 1 hour of cooking, but actually ended up removing quite a lot of the sauce in order to reduce the amount of liquid. I added extra sugar and ensured I sprinkled it on the duck skin, in order for them to caramelize and look a lot more appetising.

I also added some cherries that I happened to have in the fridge. I kept some plums and cherries back and added them in 45 mins before serving time, in order for the dish to look more appealing, as the plums do tend to disintegrate fairly easily.

A very enjoyable and easy recipe.

I would not try the recipe with duck breast it would be a waste. They are different cuts of meat. Duck breast do not need to cook for a long time with a little pink left is best. Google canard recipes, it will show you how.
Mary, your oven temperature may not be accurate. Also, try cooking with lid on for 1/2 the time required and uncover for rest. Rich, good suggestion: after browining the meat you can add all the ingredients in a slow cooker. Will get the same result.
Would not try this with goose. Too much fat in goose for this recipe.

Anyone know if you could do this recipe with duck breast instead of leg?

The tartness will depend on the type of plums you use and their condition.
So you need to taste your food once cooked and adjust the sugar accordingly. I would suggest browning off the meat before hand to seal it, get rid of the excess fat in the skin and also reduce the cooking time.

Not good at all, I'm afraid. I feel the proportions are incorrect. The recipe as it stands will give you an unpleasantly tart sauce. Try adding double the amount of demarera.

hi
iv rated your meal tow stars because the layout of the food isnt very good and thats what puts me off

please email me back and tell me what you think of my commet

Hi Jamie,
I am British and live in Alexandria, Egypt. I watch all your programs on the new fatafeat channel. I am really dyeing to find your recipe of bread you made on one of your shows. It's made with olive oil and rosemary. Please help. I am also very interested in all your recipes but unfortunately I can't always find the ingredients here but I compromise. Next time I go back to the U.k I will buy your book or better if you ever think of visiting Egypt I would be honored to have you as my guest ( please could you bring me a copy of your book).
Thank you

This is a wonderful dish! I went to my local chinese restaurant an got some pancakes to wrap up the duck meat.

I made this recipe today, and after two and a half hours my duck legs came out of the oven completely black and the sauce was gone (dried out and black), should I have closed my tray first with a lid or foil??? I put my fan oven 170 C.what did go wrong???? please help!!!!

I have a goose in my freezer : do you think I can prepare it this way ?

Cooked it for my wife who loved it.The duck and plum sauce is a classic conbination.You will love this if you love crispy aromatic duck.