This slow-roast duck for St Luke's Day cooks by itself while you relax. The skin turns crisp and the meat stays tender, and red cabbage with apples and vinegar cuts the duck's fat. The cold meat makes a quick meal on Monday.

3 hrs 40 minprep 40 min · cooking 3 hrs
4 servingsLunch
For the patientdifficulty
720 kcalper serving

Ingredients

Duck

  • 2.5 kgwhole duck, at room temperature
  • 50 gbutter, softened
  • 1 tbspdried marjoram
  • 1 tspcrushed black pepper
  • 3apples, for the stuffing
  • 1onion, for the stuffing
  • 200 mlwater for the roasting tin
  • 1 tbsphoney, for the glaze

Red cabbage

  • 1 kgred cabbage, thinly sliced
  • 1large onion
  • 2apples
  • 3 tbspduck fat from the roasting tin
  • 3 tbspred wine vinegar
  • 150 mlred wine
  • 1 tbspsugar
  • 2bay leaves
  • 3cloves
  • 1 tbspsalt in total (2 tsp for the duck, 1 tsp for the cabbage)

Method

  1. Prepare the duck

    Trim the extra fat around the tail and pat the bird dry with paper towels. Prick the skin on the breast and thighs with a thin needle, without reaching the meat. Rub with salt, pepper, marjoram and the butter.

    duck with red cabbage — Prepare the duck

  2. Stuff with apples

    Cut the 3 apples and the onion into quarters and pack them into the cavity. Tie the legs with kitchen string so the stuffing stays in.

    duck with red cabbage — Stuff with apples

  3. Roast slowly

    Put the duck breast side up in a deep roasting tin with 200 ml of water. Roast at 160°C for about 2 hours 15 minutes.

    Every 45 minutes, pour the fat from the tin into a jar. You will need it for the cabbage.

    duck with red cabbage — Roast slowly

  4. Braise the cabbage

    After the first hour of roasting, fry the onion in 3 tbsp of duck fat in a wide pot until translucent. Add the cabbage, grated apples, sugar, vinegar, wine, bay leaves, cloves and salt. Cover and cook on low heat for 60 to 70 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

    duck with red cabbage — Braise the cabbage

  5. Glaze with honey

    Thin the honey with 2 tbsp of water and brush it on the skin. Turn the oven up to 210°C and roast for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the skin is deep golden and the thigh reaches 85°C.

    Put the honey on the skin only for the last 15 minutes. Any earlier and it burns and tastes bitter.

    duck with red cabbage — Glaze with honey

  6. Rest and serve

    Cover the duck with foil and leave it for 20 minutes so it keeps its juices. Then carve it into portions and take the baked apples out of the cavity.

    duck with red cabbage — Rest and serve

How to serve

Serve with boiled potatoes, drizzled with a little of the juices from the tin, and the baked apples from the stuffing.

Did you know?

Roast duck with red cabbage is a classic of German, Austrian and Danish cooking, where it is often served with apples at the festive table.

Per serving (approximate): 720 kcal · protein 45 g · fat 48 g · carbohydrates 24 g