Our Favorite Honey-Glazed Duck (Recipe)

Ingredients

2 medium onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup dry sherry

1/4 cup soy sauce

Dash hot pepper sauce

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 3- to 5-pound domestic ducklings

Peel of 2 oranges

Steps

1. In a blender or food processor, thoroughly blend or process the onions, garlic, honey, sherry, soy sauce, hot pepper sauce, ginger and pepper until liquified.  Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350°.  Rinse each duckling and wipe inside and out with paper towels.  Skewer the neck skin to the back and tie the legs to the tail.  Snip off the wing tips and twist the wings under the back.

3. Place the ducklings, breast sides up, on a rack in a roasting pan.  Prick the breast skin.  Insert a meat thermometer into the the center of one of the inside thigh muscles.  Place the orange peel in the pan below the ducks.

4. Roast the ducks in the 350° oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until the meat thermometer registers 180°.  Baste  the ducks generously with the glaze after 1 1/2 hours and then every 15 minutes until done.

Tips:

To serve three or four people, halve this recipe.

Don't brush the ducklings with the glaze too soon or it will burn before the birds are done.

If you do not have a meat thermometer, cook the ducklings until the drumsticks move easily in their sockets and the duck is no longer pink.

For a holiday meal, try serving this duck with mashed sweet potatoes and whole cranberry sauce.  A few orange slices will make a colorful garnish.

From : America's Best-Loved Community Recipes