There’s something deeply satisfying about cooking duck as the darkness creeps into the Nordic evenings. It’s not a summer ingredient. Duck belongs to that moment of the year when you start seeing your breath outside, when the wind rushes across the fields, and when roots and berries suddenly make a lot more sense than tomatoes and basil ever could.

This wasn’t some happy accident in the kitchen. I knew duck, beetroot, and blackberry would hit all the right notes: fat, earth, acidity, colour. The plan was to build something simple but punchy, and let each element do what it naturally does well.

Duck Stock

Ingredients

• 1 duck carcass + leftover bones

• 5 onions

• ½ small celeriac

• 2 small carrots

Method

1. Cut celeriac + carrots into cubes.

2. Brûlée onions in a stock pot.

3. Roast duck carcass in oven until golden.

4. Deglaze stock pot + roasting tray.

5. Add all veg + carcass to pot. Cover with water.

6. Simmer 3–5 hours.

7. Reduce by 50–70%.

8. Season with salt.

Duck Sauce with Blackberries

Ingredients

• 50 g blackberry vinegar

• 50 g blackberries

• 200 g reduced duck stock

Method

1. Reduce blackberry vinegar to a light gastrique.

2. Add blackberries to the hot gastrique; soften briefly.

3. Add duck stock. Reduce together until flavour is concentrated.

4. Cool and infuse overnight in the fridge.

5. Strain. Adjust seasoning + acidity.

6. Thicken lightly with xanthan gum if needed.

Glazed Beetroots

Ingredients

• 2 Beetroots, peeled and cut to shape

• 100 g blackberry vinegar

• 40 g honey

• Water (to barely cover)

Method

1. Add beets + vinegar + honey to a saucepan.

2. Add water to just cover.

3. Cook on medium heat until tender.

4. Reduce cooking liquid to a glaze.

5. Add extra water during cooking if needed.

Pickled Beetroot Slices (Garnish)

Ingredients

• Thin beetroot slices

• 1–2–3 pickle (100 g vinegar / 200 g sugar / 300 g water)

Method

1. Bring pickle to a boil.

2. Pour over beet slices.

3. Cool and store. Use when tender, crisp, and bright.

Fresh Garnish

• Pomegranate seeds

• Blackberries

  
  

Plating

The plate is simple. Duck on a clean pour of sauce, no fancy swirls.
The beetroots carry the colour and the texture, backed up by blackberries and pomegranate for freshness.
It’s minimal on purpose — the flavours do the talking.