AIP Crispy Cajun Duck with Blackberry-Fig Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• Duck
• 4 to 5 pound duck, rinsed, dried- inside and out; giblets removed from cavity
• salt, to taste
• garlic powder, to taste
• 1 medium onion, quartered
• 2 carrots, peeled and halved
• 2 stalks celery, halved
• 3 cloves garlic, whole
• 4 sage leaves, whole
• herbs of your choice ( I use stalks of rosemary, parsley, bay leaves and thyme.)
• Sauce
• 1/2 cup filtered water
• 2 cups blackberries
• 4 to 5 small figs, peeled
• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• dash salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 475° F.
2. Trim extra skin and fat from around duck’s neck and cavity area. Save to render.
3. Place duck, on elevated rack, in a 2” deep roasting pan
4. Season duck, inside and out, with salt and garlic powder.
5. Stuff cavity of duck with onion, carrot, celery, garlic cloves, sage, and herbs.
6. Cover roasting pan and duck with foil, lined with parchment paper. Be sure pan is wrapped tightly with foil. This will ensure fat is cooked away from the skin, to create a crispier duck.
7. Bake for 1 hour.
8. Remove foil and parchment paper and continue to bake for 30 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165° F, and skin is crisp and brown.
9. Remove from oven.
10. Place duck on cutting board to cool before carving. Don’t forget to filter and jar duck fat from bottom of roasting pan. Duck fat is a flavorful cooking fat for veggies.
11. Sauce
12. Bring water and blackberries to a boil in a small saucepan.
13. Lower heat and cook for 5 minutes.
14. Remove from heat.
15. Over a small bowl, empty blackberries into a mesh strainer.
16. Continually press into blackberry mixture to squeeze out juices and remove seeds.
17. When all juice has been extracted, discard seeds and pulp.
18. Pour juice back into saucepan.
19. Add figs and garlic to saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling.
20. Lower heat and cook until figs are soft, about 5 to 7 minutes.
21. Remove from heat.
22. Place mixture in blender or use immersion blender.
23. Add maple syrup and salt.
24. Puree until slightly chunky.
25. Serve warm.