Cheater's Duck L'Orange

•  1 whole duck, about 5 lb
• 2 tablespoons 5-spice mix
• 1 can pale beer
• 2 apples / 2 oranges / 2 lemons for stuffing
• veggies for roasting: potatoes, green beans, carrots, etc
• 100g of any jam for sauce

1. Rinse the duck inside and out, and pat dry. Cut off tail, fat deposits and discard. With a sharp knife make diagonal incisions across the skin trying to pierce the skin but not the flesh (the latter will dry the meat). Alternatively, you can pierce duck skin in several places using a fork or a skewer. Both methods will help duck absorb the flavour of the spices and sauces and release fat.

2. Rub salt, pepper, and your favourite spices into the skin of the duck (I've used 5-spice mix with honey and maple syrup and a splash of soy sauce). Stuff lemon, oranges or apples inside of the duck.

3. Preheat oven to 200C or 400F. Place the duck in a dutch oven breast side up and pour 1 can / bottle of pale / light beer. Cover with a lid and forget about it for an hour.

4. Transfer duck on a rack of a roasting pan, tilt to drain any liquid from cavity into pan. Place vegetables of your choice (potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, etc) in a roasting pan and pour some broth out of the Dutch oven on top. Make sure that harder veggies, like potatoes, have been precooked.

5. With a brush baste duck with your favorite sauce and marinade. Typically, I take a spoonful of the broth, add more spices, honey and brush the duck generously. Orange / cranberry / rasperry jam will work as well.

6. Place the duck in the oven for 20-30 minutes. This will give it wonderful caramel color. For smaller ducks 15 min will suffice.

7. In the mean time, make sauce: take 1/4 cup jam (raspberry is my fav), 2 tablespoons whisky or cognac, 1/4C duck broth. Mix well, bring to boil, and leave to simmer on medium till the sauce becomes thick enough. Corn starch can be added to thicken it up.

8. Serve and enjoy!