Mary Berry’s Roasted Duck Legs Japanese Style
Inspired by Japanese flavours of miso, soy, ginger and rice vinegar, Mary Berry's roasted duck legs are a tender, flavourful way to cook with duck.
From the book
Love to Cook
120 recipes from the nation's favourite cook
Featuring all of the recipes from the accompanying BBC2 series
Celebrating fuss-free cooking and the ingredients and flavours Mary loves
Introduction
These have been inspired by our daughter Annabel’s love of Japanese cooking. On her travels, she took a day’s cooking course in Kyoto and learnt authentic methods and flavours. As a nation we have embraced the fresh, full flavoured cuisine and, for me, duck is the perfect recipe to show it off.
Ingredients
| 6 | duck legs (about 250g/9oz each) |
| 900ml (1½ pints) | chicken stock |
| 6cm (2½ in) | fresh root ginger, peeled and cut into 8 |
| 2 | fat garlic cloves, each quartered |
| For the sauce: | |
|---|---|
| 2 tsp | cornflour |
| 6 tbsp | white miso paste |
| 4 tbsp | soy sauce |
| finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime | |
| 5cm (2in) | fresh root ginger, peeled and very finely grated |
| 2 tbsp | sesame oil |
| 6 tbsp | maple syrup |
| 3 tbsp | Japanese rice vinegar or white wine vinegar |
| 2 tbsp | pomegranate molasses |
Method
To make the sauce, measure the cornflour into a small pan and stir in the miso paste, soy, lime zest and juice until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and a little salt and black pepper. Bring to the boil, stirring all the time, until thickened and coating the spoon. Set aside.
To cook the duck, arrange the legs in a large saucepan so they fit snugly in a single layer. Cover with the stock and add the ginger and garlic. Bring to the boil, cover, reduce the heat and simmer for about 1½ hours, or until tender. Set aside to cool in the stock.
Preheat the oven 220°C/200°C fan/Gas 7.
Remove the duck legs from the cooking liquid, reserving a small amount for the sauce, and place the legs in a single layer, skin side up, in a roasting tin. Brush a little of the sauce over the top of the duck legs and slide into the oven for about 20–25 minutes, until glazed and brown.
Meanwhile, reheat the remaining sauce in a small pan. Add a little of the reserved stock to thin the sauce, if necessary, then serve alongside the legs with pak choi or edamame beans.
Mary’s tips:
Duck legs can be poached up to a day ahead. Sauce can be made up to 4 days ahead.
Freezes well after first cooking.
