Roast Duck with Turnips à la Réforme Dinner
A duck golden-roasted, glazed with its own juices, surrounded by glazed turnips that have confited in the fat. A festive dish without ostentation, reflecting a republican bourgeoisie that loves good food but distrusts aristocratic splendor.
A duck golden-roasted, glazed with its own juices, surrounded by glazed turnips that have confited in the fat. A festive dish without ostentation, reflecting a republican bourgeoisie that loves good food but distrusts aristocratic splendor.
When the friends of the Réforme crowded around my table, I had this duck served, citizens. The secret is to baste it relentlessly with its own juice, so that the skin takes on that beautiful browned gold color. The turnips, we let them confit all around, they drink the fat and become tender. And then we open a frank Burgundy—for believe me, the best political resolutions are taken with a glass in hand!
- •Rouen or Muscovy duck — one (centrepiece)
- •Turnips — a bunch (garnish to confit)
- •Butter, lard — to taste (fat)
- •Broth, white wine — a glass (degreasing the jus)
- •Salt, pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Roast Duck with Turnips à la Réforme Dinner
A duck golden-roasted, glazed with its own juices, surrounded by glazed turnips that have confited in the fat. A festive dish without ostentation, reflecting a republican bourgeoisie that loves good food but distrusts aristocratic splendor.
Why this dish? Ledru-Rollin hosted political dinners around the newspaper *La Réforme*, where left-wing republicans gathered. A roast duck, a noble but accessible dish, is exactly the kind of dish served at these bourgeois dinners where they reshaped France between glasses of Burgundy.
When the friends of the Réforme crowded around my table, I had this duck served, citizens. The secret is to baste it relentlessly with its own juice, so that the skin takes on that beautiful browned gold color. The turnips, we let them confit all around, they drink the fat and become tender. And then we open a frank Burgundy—for believe me, the best political resolutions are taken with a glass in hand!
Ingredients (period version)
- Rouen or Muscovy duck — one (centrepiece)
- Turnips — a bunch (garnish to confit)
- Butter, lard — to taste (fat)
- Broth, white wine — a glass (degreasing the jus)
- Salt, pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Free-range duck — 1 (approx. 1.8 kg) (centrepiece)
- Golden ball turnips — 8 (garnish to confit)
- Butter — 40 g (fat)
- Dry white wine — 1 glass (degreasing)
- Chicken broth — 150 ml (jus)
- Sugar — 1 tsp (glazing turnips)
- Salt, pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Season the duck inside and out with salt and pepper, lightly prick the thighs. Place on a rack over a roasting pan.
- Roast at 180°C for about 1 hour 15 minutes, basting every 15 minutes with the rendered juices and fat.
- Meanwhile, peel the turnips, sauté them in butter with a pinch of sugar until colored, then add them around the duck halfway through cooking to confit.
- Remove the duck, let it rest. Degrease the pan, deglaze with white wine and broth, reduce to a short jus.
- Carve the duck, arrange with the glazed turnips, and spoon the jus over.
How it was made : Duck with turnips is a great classic of 19th-century bourgeois cuisine, codified in the manuals of the time. It was then roasted on a spit in front of the fireplace or in the bread oven, basting continuously. The turnip, a humble vegetable, ennobles the dish without ruining it—a balance dear to the bourgeoisie.
The contemporary twist : Arrange a confit leg and thin slices of pink magret, honey-caramelized glazed turnips, with a reduction of the jus in Burgundy wine served in a sauceboat.
Sources : Alexandre Dumas, Grand Dictionnaire de cuisine (1873) ; tradition de la cuisine bourgeoise parisienne
Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin · Charactorium