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New ZealandFlavors · Rouen
Young duck roasted rare and served with a sauce made from the carcass juice, pressed in a silver press, with red wine and shallots. It is the specialty that Rouen’s tourist office presents as the city’s dish; the recipe is attributed to an innkeeper from Duclair, nearby.
Traditional dish from Rouen, Normandia
Also known as: caneton à la rouennaise, canard au sang, canard au sang à la rouennaise
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Canard à la rouennaise — Rouen, France
Canard à la rouennaise is a young duck, the caneton, roasted so the meat remains pink. In the classic version, the preparation finishes in front of the customer: the breasts, legs and wings are removed, and the carcass goes into a silver press that extracts the juice. That juice, with red wine and shallots, becomes the sauce that covers the meat, sometimes flambéed. Because of the pink meat and the sauce made from the juice, the dish is also called canard au sang.
The recipe is attributed to an innkeeper from Duclair, on the banks of the Seine west of Rouen, known as Père Denise, in the 19th century. The region has a tradition of duck farming, and Duclair still celebrates the animal in an annual festival.
In Rouen the tourist office presents the dish as the city’s specialty. In 1986 the Ordre des Canardiers was created, an association dedicated to preserving this tradition. The city has been part of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network for gastronomy since 2021.
The preparation requires the press and a trained cook, and the dish appears mainly in traditional restaurants as a ceremonial item.
Rouen , Normandia
Presented by Rouen’s tourist office as the city’s specialty, with the recipe attributed to an innkeeper from Duclair, nearby.
Young duck (caneton); mustard; red wine; shallots; the carcass juice extracted in the press; butter; sometimes brandy or another spirit for flambéing.
Served in portions: first the breasts with the sauce, then the grilled legs. Common accompaniments are a celery flan, roasted apples or potatoes. It is eaten at the table with fork and knife, with red wine.
Festive meals and special dinners, year-round.
Your questions
Because the meat is served pink and the sauce is made from the juice extracted from the carcass in the press, together with red wine and shallots.
The recipe is attributed to an innkeeper from Duclair, near Rouen, known as Père Denise, in the 19th century.
A silver or metal device that squeezes the roasted duck carcass to extract the juice used in the sauce. The preparation is often done in front of the customer.
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