Crispy-skinned roasted duck with cherry-rosemary sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 Peking duck weighing 2.2 kg.
• 1 shallot, peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 cup fresh or frozen cherries, halved and pitted
• 0.5 cup chicken broth
• 2 tbsp. jam with whole cherries or other berries
• 2 teaspoons of honey
• 1 tsp rosemary leaves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tbsp (15 g) butter

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 150°C.
2. Wash the duck inside and out and pat dry. Trim any excess fat from the neck and around the cavity, cut off the wing tips, and discard. Combine 1 tablespoon of salt and 0.5 teaspoon of black pepper in a small bowl and rub the duck all over. Using a small knife, prick the duck all over, cutting through the skin and fat but not into the meat.
3. Place the duck breast-side down on a rack set in a roasting pan and roast for 1 hour. Remove the bird from the oven, transfer it to a platter, and carefully pour off the fat from the roasting pan into a measuring cup (you'll get about 2-3 cups). Return the duck to the roasting pan, prick it again with a knife, turn it breast-side down, and roast for another hour. Repeat this process every hour, roasting the duck for a total of 4.5 hours.
4. While the duck is cooking, prepare the sauce. Heat 1 tablespoon of duck fat in a small saucepan over medium heat and sauté the shallots until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the cherries, broth, jam, honey, and rosemary and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat, add the lemon juice, stir in the butter, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set the sauce aside until the duck is done.
5. After 4.5 hours of baking, increase the oven temperature to 175°C (350°F), prick the duck skin one last time, season with salt again, and return the bird to the oven, breast side up. Bake for 30 minutes, until the skin is golden brown.
6. Remove from the oven, cover with foil, and let the duck rest for 20 minutes. Gently reheat the sauce over low heat. Slice the duck, arrange the pieces on a platter, and serve with the sauce.