Crisp Roasted Ducklings

Finish the ducklings a few minutes before your guests arrive, and keep them warm while you sit down to your appetizer.

Ingredients

• 2 ducklings (5 pounds each)
• 6 lemons
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup hot-pepper jelly

How to make it 



• 1

  Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove necks and giblets from ducklings. Rinse ducklings thoroughly and drain well. Pat dry, inside and out, with paper towels. Remove excess fat; trim and discard neck skin.
• 2

  Prick skin all over with a fork. Rub each duckling with juice of 1 lemon. Rub each duckling with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cut remaining lemons into chunks and stuff into cavities of each duckling.
• 3

  Place ducklings, breast-side-up, on a rack in roasting pan. Roast about 2 1/2 hours (30 minutes per pound). About halfway through cooking, prick ducklings again all over with a fork. Meanwhile, melt pepper jelly. With a brush, baste ducklings with melted jelly during last 20 minutes of cooking. Cover ducklings with aluminum foil and keep warm for up to 30 minutes before serving.