Roast Duckling With Sweet-and-Sour Cabbage

Ingredients

• 1  bay leaf 
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar 
• 12  bottled chestnuts peeled
• 1 cup golden delicious apple peeled chopped
• 0.5 teaspoon ground allspice 
• 0.5 teaspoon ground coriander 
• 1 teaspoon juniper berries crushed
• 0.3 cup low-salt chicken broth 
• 0.5 cup onion minced
• 0.8 teaspoon pepper divided
• 3 cups cabbage shredded red
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 
• 4 cups rock salt 
• 1.5 teaspoons salt divided
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil 
• 4 pound domestic duckling fresh thawed cleaned ( and )
• 4 pound domestic duckling fresh thawed cleaned ( and )

Equipment

• bowl
• sauce pan
• oven
• roasting pan
• kitchen thermometer
• aluminum foil
• microwave

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 45
2. Remove giblets and neck from duckling; reserve for another use. Rinse duckling under cold water; pat dry. Trim excess fat. Starting at neck cavity, loosen skin from breast and drumsticks by inserting fingers, and gently pushing hand between skin and meat.
3. Combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, coriander, and allspice.
4. Sprinkle spice mixture under loosened skin. Tie ends of legs together with cord. Lift wing tips up and over back; tuck under duckling.
5. Spread rock salt evenly in bottom of a shallow roasting pan.
6. Place duckling, breast side up, on rock salt. Pierce skin several times with a meat fork. Insert meat thermometer into meaty part of thigh, making sure not to touch bone.
7. Bake at 450 for 50 minutes or until thermometer reaches 18
8. Cover duckling loosely with foil; let stand 10 minutes. Discard skin before serving.
9. Prepare cabbage mixture while duckling roasts. Soak chestnuts in a bowl of water for 30 minutes.
10. Drain.
11. Cut a slit in the shell on the rounded side of the chestnut. (Make sure slit goes the whole way through shell. If not, they will explode.) Arrange chestnuts in a single layer on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave at high 2 minutes. Cool 5 minutes;peel. Chop chestnuts; set aside.
12. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
13. Add onion; saut 3 minutes.
14. Add cabbage, apple, sugar, vinegar, and bay leaf; cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 5 minutes. Stir in chestnuts, broth, juniper berries, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook, uncovered, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaf.
15. Serve with duckling.