orange sauce Archives - The Midnight Baker

Duck with Orange Sauce

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 00:00:01 +0000

Duck with orange sauce is the most favored way to serve this bird.

I haven’t eaten duck in close to 30 years! That was due more to price and availability where I live now. I decided to treat myself when I saw them in the store last week.

The thing I love about duck is the nice crispy skin. Believe it or not, I’m pretty “meh” about the meat since I’m not a huge fan of dark meat on poultry other than chicken.

But the reason I bought this was for something you really wouldn’t think–I wanted some rendered duck fat. Yes, the fat.

The French use the fat in many haute gourmet recipes. I actually don’t do “haute gourmet” because, well, it’s too much work since I got lazy in my old age. What I wanted the the fat for was making roasted potatoes. Made with duck fat instead of butter or oil makes roast potatoes go to the next level.

But enough about my main purpose and onto the duck itself.

Orange and poultry, especially duck, is a perfect combination. Nice bright citrus notes complement the slight sweetness of duck meat (and the skin).

If you have some spare oranges, quarter one and place it in the cavity of the bird so it will delicately infuse into the meat.

When cooking this bird, you have to do a bit more work than roasting a chicken or turkey. Since a duck has more fat under the skin than the other birds I mentioned, you have got to prick the skin so the fat will render out. Be careful doing this because you just want to prick the top skin only–you don’t want to go down to the meat since that will case the meat to dry out.

In addition to pricking the skin, you must turn the bird three times during cooking. You start it out with breast up, next phase of cooking is turning the breast side down, then the final leg of the cooking process you turn the breast side up yet again. Each time you turn, you prick the skin again.

An average-sized duck (5 lbs) will take about 2 hours to cook. During the last portion of the roasting, you will want to prepare the simple yet tasty sauce since it takes a while to reduce to a syrupy state.

Last but not least, resting time is very important with duck–the longer you let it rest, the juicier the meat so resist the urge to carve and serve immediately out of the oven. I usually let a duck rest for 20-30 minutes.

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Duck with Orange Sauce

Duck with orange sauce is the most favored way to serve this bird.

Prep Time20

Cook Time1 30

Total Time1 50

Course: Chicken

Cuisine: American

Keyword: duck, orange sauce, roasted poultry

Servings: 4

Calories: 977kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 duck 5 lbs or more
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

SAUCE

3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp butter
2 tsp grated orange zest
3/4 cup orange juice
4 pieces thinly sliced orange optional

Instructions

Wash duck and dry thoroughly. Remove excess fat from the cavity area. Prick the skin at 1-inch intervals over the entire bird.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place bird breast side up on a rack set in a deep roasting pan.
Mix salt & pepper and sprinkle over the bird.
Roast for 40-45 minutes; prick the skin again and turn bird breast slide down.
Roast for another 40-45 minutes; prick the skin again and turn bird breast side up.
Remove bird from the oven, cover loosely with foil and let it rest at least 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the sauce--place all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to boil stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium-low and gently boil until sauce has the consistency of pancake syrup. This should take about 15 minutes.
Brush the duck with some of the sauce.
Cut duck into quarters and serve with additional sauce.

Nutrition

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Orange Beef

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:00:00 +0000

Orange Beef

Ahhh..a favorite and even more tasty than orange chicken. Bold and beautiful.

Basically, the same deal as orange chicken but no broccoli and uses beef.

The authentic recipe calls for flank steak, but since that’s rather pricy, you can substitute sirloin for it. Sirloin is often on sale.

To get the creamy and tender texture in the meat that you get in the restaurant, you have to b*tch slap that meat LOL. Really all you are doing when you do that is tenderizing it. What I do is cut a cube of meat about 1/2 to 1-inch thick and pound it with a meat mallet or the side of a cleaver. If using the cleaver, place the side of the blade over the cube of meat and give the side of the blade a good WHACK with your hand. Of course, a meat mallet is easier, and either the smooth or the side with teeth will do. There’s the secret–and it’s done with any meat or poultry served in an Asian restaurant.

Orange Beef

For the beef:

1 lb boneless sirloin steak or flank steak
1 egg
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs oil
oil for deep frying

For the sauce:

1 tbs minced garlic
1 tbs minced fresh ginger
1/4 cup chopped green onion (reserve some for garnish–about 1 tbs)
1/2 tsp hot red pepper flakes
1 tbs mirin or saki
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup water
1 tbs cornstarch
1 1/2 tbs soy sauce
1 1/2 tbs rice vinegar
5 tbs sugar
zest of 1/2 whole orange

Cut steak into bite-sized pieces, tenderize (see above narrative) and place in a bowl. Mix the 1/2 cup cornstarch, flour, salt, and pepper. Beat the egg in a small bowl with the 1 tbs oil. Mix in the cornstarch mixture. Add the cornstarch/egg mixture to the steak in the bowl. Coat well.

Heat enough oil to deep fry in a large, deep skillet or wok. Heat oil to 375 degrees. Fry steak in batches so there is plenty of room around the steak pieces. Maybe 6-8 pieces at a time. Fry on each side 5-7 minutes or until crisp and beginning to brown. Drain with slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat until all steak is cooked.

Mix the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar and orange zest in a small bowl. Set aside.

Remove oil from wok and wipe out. Heat over high heat for about 10 seconds and add the other 1 tbs of oil. Add the minced garlic and ginger and stir fry until very aromatic–maybe 15 seconds. Add the green onion and the pepper flakes and stir fry for 10 seconds. Stir the sauce in the bowl and add it to the wok. Bring sauce to boil. Add the mirin/saki and the sesame oil. Mix the 1/4 cup water and 1 tbs cornstarch and add to the boiling sauce, stirring constantly until sauce is thickened and bubbling. Add cooked steak coating well with sauce.

Serve immediately over rice.

Makes 4 servings

Orange Beef

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Orange Chicken

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 23:00:00 +0000

Orange Chicken

This one is the real deal. Many recipes floating around, but this one is authentic.

Authentic Chinese Orange Chicken

Lately any recipe I see for this uses chicken breast. That’s OK I guess but Chinese don’t use it in this dish or most “red” stews or anything with soy sauce.

Breast meat is reserved for lighter, “white” dishes that are quickly cooked. In stews or anything “twice-cooked” the poultry used is thighs. Breast is too light in flavor to handle this sauce–it gets lost in the taste of it. This dish requires a bolder flavor in the meat. I learned a great deal about Chinese cuisine way back in college. A friend’s sister managed a restaurant in Chinatown and gave up a few secrets…lucky for me!!!

Yes, the dish is a bit fussy, but it’s well worth the effort AND it’s cheaper than take-out and better than the stuff from your grocer’s freezer.

Reader Tip

This tip comes from Betty–she found the batter too thick and thinned it down with a splash of milk. She said it was perfect with that addition. Thanks Betty!

The Recipe

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Orange Chicken

This one is the real deal. Many recipes floating around, but this one is authentic.

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Total Time1

Course: Chicken

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: orange chicken

Servings: 4

Calories: 505kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

FOR THE CHICKEN

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 egg
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp oil
oil for deep frying

FOR THE SAUCE

1 tbs minced garlic
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1/4 cup chopped green onion reserve some for garnish--about 1 tbs
1/2 tsp hot red pepper flakes
1 cup fresh broccoli florets
1 tbsp mirin or saki
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
5 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
zest of 1 whole orange

Instructions

Cut chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces and place in a bowl. Mix the 1/2 cup cornstarch, flour, salt, and pepper. Beat the egg in a small bowl with the 1 tbs oil. Mix in the cornstarch mixture. Add the cornstarch/egg mixture to the chicken in the bowl. Coat well.
Heat enough oil to deep fry in a large, deep skillet or wok. Heat oil to 375 degrees. Fry chicken in batches so there is plenty of room around the chicken. Maybe 6-8 pieces at a time. Fry on each side 5-7 minutes or until crisp and beginning to brown. Drain with slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat until all chicken is cooked.
Mix the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar and orange zest in a small bowl. Set aside.
Remove oil from wok and wipe out. Heat over high heat for about 10 seconds and add the other 1 tbs of oil. Toss in the minced garlic and ginger and stir fry until very aromatic--maybe 15 seconds. Put the broccoli in and stir fry for 15 seconds. Add the green onion and the pepper flakes and stir fry for 10 seconds. Stir the sauce in the bowl and add it to the wok. Bring sauce to boil. Add the mirin/saki and the sesame oil. Mix the 1/4 cup water and 1 tbs cornstarch and add to the boiling sauce, stirring constantly until sauce is thickened and bubbling. Add cooked chicken coating well with sauce.
Serve immediately over rice.

Nutrition

Orange Chicken

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