I have always had a keen interest in food and have taken a few cookery courses in my time. While living in London I attended an evening class with a delightful cook called Joyce and she taught me some wonderful recipes including this one for Duck with Madeira Sauce. I use the sauce with pork and chicken too but until now have not revealed the secret ingredient! Joyce used to call this cheats madeira sauce read on to find out why.

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Ingredients

• 1 Barbary Duck Breast per person or 1 between 2 children
• Flour for Dusting
• To serve potatoes, parsnips and broccoli

For the Madeira Sauce

• 2 oxo stock cubes
• 2 heaped tablespoons of bisto powder for gravy
• half a pint of cold water
• half a glass of madeira (you can use sherry)
• 25mls of double or whipping cream

Method

• Turn your oven to the highest setting.
• Remove your barbary duck breasts from their packaging and dry them with a paper towel.
• Dust the skin side with some flour and slash them with 3 diagonals to open up the skin.
• Place them on a wire rack above a baking tray and cook in the oven for 25 minutes. This should give you a pink middle.

Madeira Sauce

• Crumble the oxo stock cubes into a saucepan.
• Add the Bisto powder and the cold water.
• Bring to the boil over a high heat stirring continuously.
• Add the madeira and keep stirring and then turn down the heat and add the cream.

TOP TIP: Once boiled the mixture will get very thick and you will think it has gone wrong but once you add the madeira and cream it will even out. If it is still too thick add some more water.

I like to serve this with roasted potatoes and parsnips which I par-boil before preparing my duck and add them to the tray below the duck so they finish cooking in the juices from the duck above. And finally I blanch some broccoli in boiling water for a few minutes and serve.

Have you any cooking cheats or shortcuts? Please share them in the comments box below.