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Main Ingredient: Game

Cooking Style: British

Dish Type: Main

Sticky Duck Pancakes

Serves 4 as a main with noodles or rice or 8 as a starter

Rather than using shop-bought Chinese pancakes, why not try this for your Pancake Day promotion? The duck and garnish part of this dish can be prepared the day before so all you need to do is make the pancakes & re-heat the duck; it’s a great sharing dish for people to dig into.

If you want to serve this as you would get it in a Chinese restaurant, then prepare strips of cucumber & spring onion with hoi sin sauce. For a bit of difference though, why not try julienned French breakfast radish & finely shredded Chinese leaf with plum sauce or a mix of shredded wild garlic & watercress with a five spice cherry compote.

For the Duck:
Four large duck legs
3 tbsp Chinese five spice
1 whole star anise
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 onions, quartered
Half pint of dark beer
2tbsps Lyle’s Golden syrup
1tsp molasses

1.    Heat your oven to 190degreesC
2.    Put the onions & star anise in the base of a baking tray which will fit all your duck legs, pour beer over
3.    Rub the five spice powder into the duck legs, place on onions and place in oven for an hour
4.    50 minutes into cooking, put beer and Lyle’s Golden Syrup & molasses into a pan, whisk together and reduce to sticky sauce
5.    After an hour drain off the fat from the duck legs and pour the sticky sauce over the top of the duck legs – turn the oven down to 150degreesC
6.    Cook for another 25 minutes, basting the legs every five minutes for first 15 – skin should look varnished
7.    Leave to rest somewhere warm – don’t cover
8.    Shred the meat just before serving

Pancakes (makes 16)
600ml milk
4 medium eggs
250g plain flour
50g melted butter
2 tsp soy sauce

1.    Pour milk and eggs into a jug - beat well
2.    Place flour into a bowl and make hollow in centre
3.    Gradually pour the egg and milk mixture into the centre of the flour, whisking just in the centre as you pour
4.    As you pour more steadily, keep whisking so you pull in all of the flour from the outside of the bowl – this means you shouldn’t get any lumps
5.    Once all the flour is incorporated, whisk melted butter into the batter, cover with cling film and place in the fridge
6.    When you are ready to cook your pancakes take it from the fridge, add a tbsp of soy sauce and whisky into the mix before – cook as instructed in recipe above

To Serve:
1.    Shred the meat from three of the legs and then only half shred the final leg on a warm sharing platter, the bone adds a little theatre to the dish
2.    Put pancakes in a bamboo steamer separated by sheets of greaseproof paper
3.    Serve with sauce and garnishes

Recipe coutesy of Melissa Cole beer & food expert and the recipe developers at Lyle’s Golden Syrup.