The older I get, the more I find myself leaning into tradition. There’s just something so comforting about a list of ingredients that stays pretty much the same year in, year out – save, of course, for the odd variation depending on the occasion – and that applies to Thanksgiving as much as it does to Christmas. That’s not to say we need to cook the same thing every year – far from it. I prefer to look at it as playing within certain fixed parameters, which not only feels safe and cosy, but also guarantees deliciousness. All reasons to give thanks, for sure.
Cranberry-glazed spatchcocked duck
Duck is one of my favourite birds to cook – it’s just the right amount of fatty, which means that no matter how you cook it, it somehow always turns out juicy and tasty. Here I’ve gone for low and slow, and for that essential crisp skin. This bird is glazed with the flavours of Thanksgiving, but I’ll be giving thanks to (and eating) it in various guises throughout the festive season. Don’t be put off by the need to spatchcock the duck first: spend five minutes looking up the technique online, and you’ll soon be a pro; failing that, just ask the butcher to do it for you.
Prep 15 min
Marinate 30 min+
Cook 3 hr
Serves 4 generously
For the duck
1 large duck (about 2kg), ideally with giblets
2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
Fine sea salt, flaky sea salt and black pepper
3 tbsp plain flour
500ml chicken stock
10g thyme sprigs
1 tsp pink peppercorns
100g frozen cranberries
For the glaze
100ml cranberry juice
50ml cider vinegar, or white-wine vinegar
50g dark brown sugar
75g cranberry sauce, or cranberry jelly
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp pink peppercorns
First spatchcock the duck, then cut off the wingtips. Put the backbone, wingtips and giblets on an oven tray that will fit in your fridge later, and put a rack on top. Prick the duck skin all over, then put it on the rack breast side up. Sprinkle with the five-spice, two teaspoons of fine salt and a few twists of black pepper, then rub evenly all over the duck and put in the fridge uncovered for at least 30 minutes, and ideally overnight.
Meanwhile, put all the ingredients for the glaze in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and leave to cook for about eight minutes, until the mixure has reduced and thickened to the consistency of runny honey. Take off the heat and leave to cool.
Heat the oven to 160C (140C fan)/325F/gas 3. Take the duck tray out of the fridge, pat the skin dry with kitchen paper, then put it in the oven and roast for two hours. When the two hours is up, brush the duck all over with half the glaze, then roast for another 15 minutes.
Turn up the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 and brush the remaining glaze all over the duck. Cook for a final 10 minutes, then transfer the duck to a platter and cover with a foil tent to rest while you make the gravy.
Turn up the oven to 240C (220C fan)/475F/gas 9. Take the rack out of the oven tray and discard the duck offcuts underneath. Whisk the flour into the juices in the tray until it’s fully incorporated, then return the tray to the oven for five minutes. Slowly whisk in the chicken stock, then add the thyme sprigs, pink peppercorns and frozen cranberries, and return to the oven for about 15 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Take the gravy tray out of the oven and whisk again.
Sprinkle some flaky sea salt all over the duck, then carve and serve with the gravy and some roast spuds.
Thanksgiving stuffing biscuits
American biscuits are, as no American needs pointing out, different from British biscuits. Rather than being flat, hard and snap-able, American biscuits are more like what Brits would think of as a scone. Even for an American, however, these stuffing biscuits are not your usual biscuit: they’re buttery, moist and packed full of festive flavours. They’re also best eaten fresh out of the oven, though any leftovers will still be great the next day, gently warmed through, sliced open and packed with more butter, and any cold meat and cheese.
Prep 20 min
Chill 20 min
Cook 40 min
Makes 9
For the onion mix
30g unsalted butter
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped (150g)
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
5g rosemary leaves (about 1 tsp), finely chopped
10g sage leaves (about ¾ tsp), finely chopped
½ tsp celery salt
2 tbsp runny honey
For the biscuit dough
200g buttermilk
1 egg
250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
2½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
Fine sea salt
100g fridge-cold unsalted butter, cut into 2cm cubes
100g onion mix (see above and method)
100g mature cheddar, coarsely grated, plus 20g extra for sprinkling
Melt the butter for the onion mix in a medium frying pan, then stir in all the remaining onion mix ingredients apart from the honey and cook, stirring every now and then, for 10 minutes, until soft but not coloured. Take off the heat, stir in the honey and leave to cool completely.
For the biscuits, whisk the buttermilk and egg in a bowl, then put in the fridge to cool. Put the flour, baking powder, bicarb and a half-teaspoon of fine salt into a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the cubed cold butter and pulse until it’s broken down into pea-sized pieces.
Set aside a tablespoon of the buttermilk-egg mix, then pour the rest into the food processor and pulse until the dough is crumbly but not quite coming together. Add the cooled onion mix and the grated cheddar, then pulse again a couple of times just to combine.
Tip out the dough on to a lightly floured surface and, with well-floured hands, gently compress into a rough square. Fold this in half, then compress again into a square. Fold it in half again, this time the other way, then compress into a square once again: the square should by now be about 21cm wide x 3cm thick. Cut the dough into nine even squares and arrange these on a large baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Brush the tops with the reserved tablespoon of buttermilk-egg mix, then sprinkle over the final 20g cheddar. Put in the fridge for 20 minutes to cool (or cover and freeze until required).
Heat the oven to 210C (190C fan)/415F/gas 6½. Take the biscuits out of the fridge (or freezer) and bake for 25 minutes (30 minutes if baking from frozen), rotating the tray once halfway through, until nicely browned.
Take the tray out of the oven, transfer the biscuits to a rack, leave to cool for 10 minutes, then serve at once.