Duck With Cherries Recipes

DUCK BREAST WITH CHERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan heat olive oil over medium heat. Add shallot and saute until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and saute a minute more- be careful not to burn.
• Add chicken stock, wine, preserves, cherries, balsamic vinegar, and sugar. Season with salt and pepper.
• Simmer over medium heat until mixture reduces by half and cherries are softened.
• Whisk in dijon mustard and butter. Taste and season with more salt and pepper as needed.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare duck breasts by scoring the fat (do not slice into the breast-meat). Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat a cast iron (or other oven-safe) skillet over medium heat. Sear duck breasts, fat side down, for 6 minutes. Then flip and cook meat-side down for 1 minute more.
• Flip back to fat-side down. Cook in oven for 5-6 minutes for medium rare.
• Remove from oven and rest on a separate plate for 5 minutes before slicing.
• Serve with cherry sauce.

DUCK WITH CHERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Prick skin of duckling well and place breast side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Tie drumsticks together. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 2 to 2-1/2 hours or until juices run clear and a thermometer reads 180°. (Drain fat from pan as it accumulates.) Cover and let stand 20 minutes before carving. , Meanwhile, for sauce, combine preserves and vinegar in a small saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until heated through. Serve with duck. Garnish platter with fruit and kale if desired.

DUCK BREAST WITH CHERRIES AND CHOCOLATE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Score the duck breast using a crosshatch pattern and season both sides with salt and pepper, to taste.
• In a large oven proof skillet heat the grapeseed oil, over medium heat, until it begins to smoke, then add the seasoned duck breasts fat side down first. Cook until golden brown on both sides. Remove the duck breasts from the skillet to a baking sheet, and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove the duck to a plate and allow to rest.
• Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the duck fat in the same skillet, and over medium heat, add the garlic and chopped onion. Saute until translucent. Remove from the heat and add the brandy. Ignite the brandy with a long kitchen match to burn off the alcohol. Return the skillet to the heat and add the can of cherries. Continue to cook for another 4 minutes, then add the heavy cream, chocolate and the fresh chopped rosemary leaves. Add the cooked duck breasts to the sauce, then remove the pan from the heat and let rest for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile in another skillet, over medium heat, add 1/2 of the butter and a little oil. When hot, add the cabbage and saute until tender. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat. Finish the sauce by adding the remaining butter. Whisk well and adjust seasoning, if necessary. To serve, spoon some of the cabbage in the center of each plate and top with a duck breast. Ladle a little of the sauce on top of the duck and serve.

ROASTED DUCK WITH CHERRIES

Steps:

• Remove any fat from the cavity of the duck and pierce the skin of the legs and breast with the tip of a knife or the tines of fork (helps to render out the fat).
• Season the duck well with salt and pepper inside and out and let the duck sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before roasting.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Roast the duck on a rack in a roasting pan for 45 minutes, turning it from side to side every ten or so minutes and finishing with it breast side up.
• Pour off as much fat as possible (reserve it for other uses--like the best french fries there are).
• Add the cherries, the wine and the stock and roast for another 15 minutes--the duck should still be pink next to the bone.
• Allow the duck to rest 15 minutes before carving.
• To carve, remove the legs, slice the breast and reserve all the juices.
• Skim the juices again, taste for seasoning and serve the duck garnished with the cherries and the de-fatted pan juices.

ROAST DUCK BREAST WITH DRIED CHERRIES AND PORT

Steps:

• Wrap each duck breast in plastic wrap and pound them with a meat mallet until each breast is about 1 inch thick. Place the duck on a plate, sprinkle both sides with a total of 4 teaspoons salt, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
• When ready to cook the duck, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Score the skin of the duck breasts with a sharp knife, making a crosshatch pattern but not cutting down to the meat.
• In a large (12-inch) heavy-bottomed, ovenproof skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Place the duck breasts in the pan, skin side down. Cook uncovered over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes, discarding the fat from the pan occasionally, until the skin is very browned. Turn the duck with tongs, place the skillet in the oven, and roast for 12 to 18 minutes, until the internal temperature of the duck is 120 degrees F for rare. Remove from the oven, cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil, and allow the duck to rest for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce. Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Add the shallots and saute for 2 minutes, until tender. Add the vinegar and cook for one minute. Add the Port, chicken stock, cherries, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the crème fraîche, orange zest, and orange juice and keep warm over low heat.
• Transfer the duck to a cutting board and slice diagonally, fanning the slices out on 4 dinner plates. Spoon the sauce generously on top, sprinkle with salt, and serve hot with extra sauce on the side.