These oven-baked duck legs have the crunchiest skin ever! They are cooked in the oven with potatoes that crisp to perfection in the yummy duck fat. And to make them even more tasty, they come with a sweet and spicy plum sauce that goes so well with the strong flavour of the duck.
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Duck legs and potatoes
If you are watching your calorie intake, then perhaps this recipe isn’t for you. On the other hand, if you want a recipe that is (a) easy to make, and (b) out-of-this-world delicious, then read on 🙂 .
These oven-baked duck legs have the crunchiest skin I have ever had the pleasure of eating. Couple that with potatoes that are crispy on the outside with a soft and fluffy interior and you have my idea of food heaven.
And as a bonus there is next to no prep time. Most of the work in cooking these crispy duck legs and potatoes is done in the oven, so you can relax and get on with important things like relaxing with a glass of wine while the oven takes care of the cooking.
Ok, maybe I’m over-exaggerating a little. You do need to spend a few minutes putting the plum sauce together. But all that takes is a little chopping of plums and onions then you just put the ingredients into a saucepan and leave it to simmer until it’s thick and sticky.
And if you are lucky enough to have a husband who knows his way around the kitchen, or children who are old enough to peel a potato, you can get the family to prepare and cook the vegetables.
Perhaps I should call this recipe ‘Mom’s-night-off-duck’!
Let me show you how easy it is to make.
What you will need
Equipment
For making the plum sauce you will need a sharp knife and a chopping board for cutting up the plums and onions, and a saucepan large enough to take the ingredients. You will also need a stick blender (or electric blender) to blend the sauce.
For the oven-baked duck legs and potatoes you will need an ovenproof dish that is safe to use on the hob. I just used my very old stainless steel roasting dish that is so old I can’t even remember where I got it from! The link I have provided is the closest I could find.
Failing that, you could use a normal frying pan for browning the duck, and then transfer it to an ovenproof dish to finish off cooking in the oven. I do like to use either a metal or enamel dish because I think the potatoes crisp better in that than in a ceramic dish.
Ingredients
**You can get the complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making these crispy duck legs in plum sauce on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
The plum sauce in this recipe makes about one cup of sauce.
For the duck you can feed as many people as you have duck legs. Allow one duck leg and one medium to large potato per person, depending on appetite.
For the duck
Duck legs – try to get duck legs with a good covering of skin. The crispy skin makes all the difference to this dish. Note that when I refer to duck legs I am including both the thigh and the drumstick – you may know this cut of duck as ‘Maryland’.
Potatoes – the best potatoes to use are firm waxy potatoes rather than the more floury potatoes that you would use to make mash. Charlottes, Roosters or Maris Pipers are all good, King Edwards tend to be on the floury side.
Salt and pepper – used for seasoning both the duck and the potatoes.
Note – there is a lot of fat under the skin of the duck which gets rendered out during the cooking process so you will not need any extra oil.
For the plum sauce
Plums – It doesn’t really matter if the plums are over-ripe or still on the firm side. You may find that very ripe plums will be sweeter than under-ripe ones, in which case you should adjust the amount of sugar you add so that the sauce isn’t too sweet.
Shallots – I like to use shallots rather than onions because the shallots have less of a sharp taste.
Soy sauce – This is dark soy sauce and it adds a salty element.
Vinegar – This adds an element of tartness.
Brown sugar – For sweetness – adjust this if your plums are very sweet.
Ginger and garlic – I use ginger and garlic paste from jars. You can use the equivalent amount of fresh ginger and garlic – just mince it very finely.
Salt and chilli flakes – These are to your own taste. I would recommend tasting the sauce at the end before you add the salt. I also only use a small amount of chilli flakes, just to add a slight kick of heat. You can leave this out if you prefer.
What to do
Oven-baked duck legs and potatoes
Set the oven to 180C/360F and leave it to preheat while you brown the duck legs.
Pat the duck with paper towels to remove any moisture and pierce the skin all over with a toothpick. This will enable the fat to render more easily. Place the duck breasts skin side down in your preferred baking dish/pan. Don’t add any oil.
Place the dish on the hob and brown the duck on on a moderate heat for about 4 minutes per side until the fat starts to render and the skin takes on a brown colour.
Turn the duck legs skin side up, and place the tray into the oven. Let the duck legs cook for 15 minutes. Then remove the tray from the oven (there should be quite a lot of fat by this stage) and add the potatoes. Sprinkle the potatoes with salt (to taste) and then stir them so they are coated all over with the duck fat.
Replace the duck (and potatoes) back into the oven and leave it for 75 minutes until the duck skin is crispy and the potatoes are nicely browned. Turn the potatoes half-way through the cooking time if you feel they are not browning on top.
Remove the duck from the oven, cover it loosely with a sheet of tin foil and leave it to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Allowing the duck to rest ensures that the juices will settle into the meat and won’t leak out all over your plate when you cut into the duck.
Plum sauce
While the duck is in the oven you can make the duck sauce.
Cut the plums in half and remove the pip. Chop the plums into half-inch pieces. Peel the shallots and chop them finely. You should end up with approximately twice as many plums by volume as shallots.
Place the plums and shallots into a saucepan and stir in the remaining ingredients, along with one-quarter of a cup of water. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer.
Cover the pan with a lid and leave for half an hour, stirring occasionally until the plums have softened and the mixture has thickened. If you find the mixture is drying out, add more water. The amount of water will depend on how juicy your plums were to start with.
Blend the plum sauce with a stick blender until it is smooth. Alternatively, you can tip the sauce into an electric blender instead. Serve the sauce hot, spooned over the duck breasts.
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Oven-baked duck legs FAQ
I personally wouldn’t freeze the cooked duck as I like the skin to be freshly crisped, straight out of the oven. However, that said, the duck legs can be cooled, packed into a suitable container and frozen for up to 3 months. To reheat them, let them defrost in the refrigerator and then put them on a baking tray, skin side up, in a hot oven for about 15 minutes or until warmed through. The skin won’t be as crispy as freshly baked though.
The potatoes can be frozen and reheated from frozen in a hot oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
Any leftover plum sauce can be frozen for up to 6 months. Defrost and reheat in a saucepan.
The leftover plum sauce can be used in a variety of dishes. Here are a few ideas:
– as a sauce for a stirfry
– as a dipping sauce for spring rolls, wontons or Chinese dumplings
– poured over roast chicken
– or you could even make this crispy orange chicken and substitute the orange sauce with the plum sauce.
I can’t speak for the rest of the world, but in the UK the most popular duck is the Gressingham duck, which is a cross between a wild mallard and a Peking duck. It gets its name from the UK village of Gressingham, where it was first bred in 1980.
This recipe has an oven time of one and a half hours, however, the duck won’t come to any harm if you leave it in the oven for up to half an hour longer. It all depends on the size of the duck legs. If you have extra large duck legs that you think may take longer to cook, I would advise adding the potatoes after 30 minutes so that the potatoes don’t overcook.
Save for later
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Other duck recipes
If you enjoy duck, why not take a look at some of my other duck recipes:
- Crispy duck in garlic sauce – tender slices of duck in an Asian-flavoured garlic sauce, served over rice or noodles.
- How to cook duck in a pressure cooker – full instructions for my foolproof way of cooking the perfect duck in a pressure cooker.
- Crispy roast duck with cherry sauce – a whole duck roasted to perfection and served with a delicious cherry sauce.
The recipe
Crispy oven-baked duck legs with potatos and plum sauce
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Frying Pan optional
Ingredients
Duck
- 2 large duck legs (thigh and drumstick)
- 1 pound / 450 grams potatoes peeled and cut into large chunks
- Salt and pepper to taste
Plum sauce
- 10½ ounces / 300 grams plums
- 2 medium banana shallots
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or other fruity vinegar
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon ginger paste
- ½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes optional
- ½ teaspoon salt or to your own taste
- Water as needed
Instructions
Duck
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/360°F
- Pat the duck with paper towels to remove any moisture, sprinkle with seasoning to taste and pierce the skin all over with a toothpick. This will enable the fat to render more easily. Place the duck breasts skin side down in your preferred baking dish/pan. Don't add any oil.2 large duck legs (thigh and drumstick), Salt and pepper to taste
- Place the dish on the hob and brown the duck on on a moderate heat for about 4 minutes per side until the fat starts to render and the skin takes on a brown colour.
- Turn the duck legs skin side up, and place the tray into the oven. Let the duck legs cook for 15 minutes. Then remove the tray from the oven (there should be quite a lot of fat by this stage) and add the potatoes. Sprinkle the potatoes with salt (to taste) and then stir them so they are coated all over with the duck fat.1 pound / 450 grams potatoes
- Replace the duck (and potatoes) back into the oven and leave it for 75 minutes until the duck skin is crispy and the potatoes are nicely browned. Turn the potatoes half-way through the cooking time if you feel they are not browning on top.
- Remove the duck from the oven, cover it loosely with a sheet of tin foil and leave it to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Allowing the duck to rest ensures that the juices will settle into the meat and won't leak out all over your plate when you cut into the duck.
Plum sauce
- Cut the plums in half and remove the pip. Chop the plums into half-inch pieces. Peel the shallots and chop them finely. You should end up with approximately twice as many plums by volume as shallots.10½ ounces / 300 grams plums, 2 medium banana shallots
- Place the plums and shallots into a saucepan and stir in the remaining ingredients, along with one-quarter of a cup of water. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer.2 tablespoons dark soy sauce, 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon garlic paste, ½ teaspoon ginger paste, ½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes, ½ teaspoon salt, Water as needed
- Cover the pan with a lid and leave for half an hour, stirring occasionally until the plums have softened and the mixture has thickened. If you find the mixture is drying out, add more water. The amount of water will depend on how juicy your plums were to start with.
- Blend the plum sauce with a stick blender until it is smooth. Alternatively, you can tip the sauce into an electric blender instead. Serve the sauce hot, spooned over the duck breasts.
Notes
The potatoes can be frozen and reheated from frozen in a hot oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
Any leftover plum sauce can be frozen for up to 6 months. Defrost and reheat in a saucepan. Leftover plum sauce can be used in a variety of dishes. Here are a few ideas:
– as a sauce for a stirfry
– as a dipping sauce for spring rolls, wontons or Chinese dumplings
– poured over roast chicken
– or you could even make this crispy orange chicken and substitute the orange sauce with the plum sauce. This recipe has an oven time of one and a half hours, however, the duck won’t come to any harm if you leave it in the oven for up to half an hour longer. It all depends on the size of the duck legs. If you have extra large duck legs that you think may take longer to cook, I would advise adding the potatoes after 30 minutes so that the potatoes don’t overcook. Nutrition is for 2 people, but in reality the sauce will serve 4 to 6 people so this is an estimate only.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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