This recipe comes from Clarissa Dickson Wright who tells the story of how her mother cooked duck for the son of the famous Russian opera singer, Feodor Chaliapin. It is quite delicious and Chaliapin’s son ate a whole duck to himself, much to the chagrin of the youthful CDW as duck cooked this way is every bit as good served cold as hot.

1 duck, weighing about 2.5kg
2 handfuls salt
2 handfuls caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 180°C

Rub the duck all over first with the salt and then the sugar. Place the duck on the rack of a roasting pan and pour a little water underneath. Roast for two hours,basting every half hour.

I serve it with red cabbage (The Allotment Kitchen page 56) and roasted potatoes.

October 2023. A footnote on the duck:

I cooked Chaliapin’s duck for some lovely Croatian guests Their return train from a day in London was delayed and I left a meal for them. Inexplicably, they put the remains of the duck into the hottest oven of the Aga which is where I found it the next day. We never did get to eat any cold!