Steamed and roasted duck
For 6
2 Gressingham ducks, about 3 kg (3.1/2 lb) each
Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 garlic cloves, peeled
3 lemons, halved
4 celery stalks, with their leaves, roughly chopped
4 small carrots, scrubbed and roughly chopped
6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
15 g (1/2 oz) unsalted butter
Preheat the oven to 200° C/400° F/Gas 6. Trim the neck skin from the ducks and remove all fat from the cavities. Using a fork, prick the duck skin in places where the fat deposits are thickest. Rub the whole ducks inside and out with sea salt.
Pulse-chop the garlic, 2 of the lemons, the celery stalks and leaves and the carrots. Add salt and pepper. Push this mixture inside each bird. Squeeze the remaining lemon over the birds, and set them breast side up in a roasting tray on a rack. Half fill the tray with boiling water. Completely cover the ducks with foil, wrapping it round the edge of the tray to make an airtight seal. Steam-bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil, and pour away the water. Pour half of the balsamic vinegar over the ducks and season the breasts. Turn the oven temperature up to 225° C/425° F/Gas 7. Roast for a further 15 minutes to brown the breasts, then turn the ducks over. Reduce the oven temperature to 200° C/400° F/Gas 6, and roast for a further 45–60 minutes. The skin should be dark brown and crisp, the flesh coming away from the bones.
Rest for 5 minutes before carving. Deglaze the roasting tray with the butter, balsamic and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Pour over each serving of duck and stuffing.