Pan Roasted Muscovy Duck Breast With A Clementine Tomatillo Sauce Served With Wild Rice Risotto Recipes

PAN-SEARED WILD DUCK BREAST WITH PORT WINE REDUCTION

Steps:

• Schneider's recipe calls for a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder because she started with whole peppercorns and allspice berries. I simply stir my salt, freshly ground pepper, sugar, zest and thyme in a small bowl. It works just fine. The mixture should look like sand.
• Place the duck breasts on a platter and rub the spice mixture into them. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. About 20 minutes before cooking, remove the duck breasts from the refrigerator and return to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 450ºF. Pat dry with paper towels. With a paring knife, remove the tenderloin, the thin strip of meat that runs lengthwise down the underside of each breast.
• Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat. When the pan is hot - it doesn't have to be smoking - put the duck breasts in fat side down. Let the breasts sizzle for about a minute (or longer if your kitchen isn't getting too smoky) or a minute and a half, then place the pan in the oven. After two and half minutes total have passed, open the oven, flip the breasts over, close the oven and cook for another two to two and a half minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, transfer the breasts to a platter, and let rest for five minutes. Turn your oven off.
• While the breasts are resting, finish reducing the sauce. (See my notes below with the sauce recipe - I make the sauce a day in advance, and then heat as much as I think we need for the two of us while the breasts are resting.) Place your sauce in a small sauce pan or frying pan and heat over medium-high heat. In no time, the sauce should start to thicken up, at which point you should remove the pan from the stovetop. Slice the breasts, if desired, and pour your beautiful sauce over top. (Or, don't slice the breasts, just pour the sauce over top.)

PAN ROASTED DUCK BREAST

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• With a sharp knife score the fat of the duck breasts in a criss-cross pattern. Season the duck with salt and pepper. Warm a heavy bottomed ovenproof skillet over medium heat.
• Place the duck breasts, fat side down, in the skillet to render off the fat, about 6 minutes. Reserve rendered duck fat. Turn the duck breasts over and sear for 1 minute. Turn the fat side down again and place the skillet into the oven to roast for 7 to 9 minutes, until breasts are medium rare. Let the duck breasts rest for 5 minutes then thinly slice.
• Grate the potatoes and squeeze out excess liquid using your hands. Toss the potatoes with the melted butter, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of duck fat in a 6-inch cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Press some of the potato mixture into the hot pan to make a 1/4-inch thick cake. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the rosti is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Flip the rosti in the pan and add more duck fat. Continue cooking until golden and crisp. Place the finished rosti onto an unlined baking sheet and continue cooking the rest of the potato mixture. Reheat rosti in a 400 degree F oven for 10 minutes.
• Combine the brown sugar, raspberry vinegar, red wine vinegar, and white wine vinegar in a medium pot. Place over medium-low heat and stir to dissolve the brown sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add the blueberries, onion, green peppercorns, lemon juice, and ginger. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.
• The chutney will keep for several weeks stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

PAN-ROASTED DUCK BREAST WITH ORANGE SAUCE AND TOURNE POTATOES

Steps:

• For the sauce: Place a large sauté pan or rondeau over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and duck bones and necks and deeply brown on both sides. Add the onions, carrots, celery, lemongrass, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and a large pinch of salt and stir. Add the wine and stock and simmer for at least 1 hour, allowing the flavors to meld.
• Meanwhile, place a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the sugar and vinegar and bring to a simmer, whisking to dissolve the sugar. Add the orange juice and continue to simmer the gastrique until syrupy, 8 to 10 minutes. You should have around 1/2 cup.
• When the stock mixture is ready, strain it and add 1/2 cup to the gastrique, whisking to combine. Simmer until reduced by half, 10 to 15 minutes, then keep the sauce warm.
• For the duck: While the sauce is reducing, score the skin on the duck breasts in a crosshatch pattern using a very sharp knife and being careful not to cut into the meat. Season the breasts on both sides with salt and pepper and place skin-side down in a cold large sauté pan coated with a drizzle of olive oil.
• Place the pan over medium-low heat and slowly render most of the duck fat, 8 to 10 minutes. When the skin is deep golden brown and crisp, flip the breasts over and briefly brown on the other side. Place the star anise, ginger and thyme into the rendered fat and then baste the breasts until they have finished cooking, 3 to 5 minutes for medium. Transfer to a cutting board and keep warm. Reserve the duck fat in the pan for the potatoes.
• For the parsley salad: Combine the parsley stems and orange supremes in a medium bowl. Toss with the orange juice, a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and set aside.
• For the potatoes: Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and salt it generously. Meanwhile, tourne the potatoes. Trim each end so it's flat. The length of each potato should be roughly 2 inches. Using a paring knife or bird's beak knife, make 7 slices the length of the potato until you end up with a football shape. Put each potato in cold water after you tourne it to prevent oxidation.
• Add the potatoes to the boiling water and boil until crisp-tender, 6 to 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and pat dry.
• Place a sauté pan over medium heat, add the reserved duck fat and heat until shimmering. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl, then add 1 tablespoon of the fat back to the pan. Add the potatoes and cook, turning often, until light golden brown on all sides. Turn the heat down to low. Season with salt and pepper, then add the thyme and continue to cook, turning the potatoes occasionally, until tender.
• Add the breasts to the pan, then pour off any excess fat. Remove the pan from the heat, add the Grand Marnier and flambe. When the flame goes out, return the pan to the heat, add the reserved sauce and heat through. Stir in the parsley and butter, season with pepper, then remove from the heat. Thinly slice the breasts, flesh-side up, against the grain. Place the potatoes on a platter, followed by the sliced duck, fat-side up. Drizzle with the sauce and top with the parsley salad.

ROAST MUSCOVY DUCK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
• Cut off and reserve the wing tips and second wing joint of the duck. Leave the main wing bone intact. Remove the fat from inside the duck and rub it all over the duck.
• Sprinkle the duck, inside and out, with salt and pepper to taste. Brush the duck with the oil.
• Arrange the duck breast-side up in a roasting pan. Add the cutoff wing bones, gizzard and cavity fat. Bake 30 minutes and pour off the fat from the roasting pan. Return the duck to the oven and scatter the celery, onion, carrot, bay leaf, thyme and garlic around the duck. Bake 15 minutes longer if you wish the duck to be medium rare. Or bake it 30 minutes or longer if you wish your duck well done.
• Transfer the duck to a warm platter. Pour the fat from the roasting pan, leaving the vegetables in the pan. Place the pan on the stove and cook the vegetables briefly, stirring. Add the wine and let boil about one minute.
• Add the broth and accumulated cavity drippings from the duck and cook, stirring, about five minutes. Strain the broth and solids, pushing the solids with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.
• Heat the butter in a small saucepan, swirling it around until it takes on a nice hazelnut color. Do not burn. Pour the butter over the duck. Carve and serve with the hot pan sauce.

PAN-ROASTED DUCK WITH WILD MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Rinse dried mushrooms to remove sand or dirt and place in a bowl. Cover with boiling water and let steep for 30 minutes.
• Lay duck breasts skin-side down on a cutting board. With your fingers, remove the thin tenderloins from the underside of each breast and reserve for sauce. With a sharp knife, trim away any gristle. Turn breasts skin-side up and trim excess fat from the edges. Score the skins in a diamond pattern. Season generously with salt and pepper, transfer to a plate and leave at cool room temperature for 1 hour.
• Put olive oil in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the reserved tenderloins and brown well on both sides. Add butter and flour to pan, and cook, stirring, until mixture is lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add soaked mushrooms and soaking liquid, and stir well as sauce begins to thicken. Add wine, thyme and bay leaf, turn heat to low, and simmer gently until gravylike, but not too thick, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and discard tenderloins, thyme and bay leaf. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning. Keep warm. (Sauce may be prepared several hours or up to 2 days in advance.)
• Set a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, add duck breasts to skillet skin-side down and let sizzle. Lower heat to medium and cook for about 7 or 8 minutes, making sure skin doesn't brown too quickly. (This will render fat and crisp the skin.) Turn breasts over and cook 3 minutes more for rare (thermometer should read 120 degrees), or 4 to 5 minutes for medium-rare (thermometer should read 125 degrees). Transfer to a warm platter and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Pour off all but 2 tablespoons rendered fat from the pan, and raise heat to medium-high. Add sliced mushrooms and sauté, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, letting them brown nicely. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off heat and stir in garlic and parsley.
• Slice duck 1/4-inch thick, crosswise at a slight angle, and serve immediately. Each serving should have 4 to 5 slices of duck, a large spoonful of mushrooms and a bit of sauce.

BOBBY FLAY SEARED MUSCOVY DUCK BREAST WITH SPICY BLACK GRAPE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter and sweat the onion, garlic and jalapeno for about 5 minutes. Raise the heat to high, add the port, and reduce 10 minutes to 1 tablespoonful. Add the red wine and reduce another 10 minutes to 1 tablespoonful. Add the stock and the grape juice concentrate and reduce by two-thirds. Add the grape juice and reduce by half. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve, return it to the saucepan, and reduce heat to low. Add the grapes, cook for 5 minutes, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Heat a large ovenproof saute pan over high heat until smoking. Season each breast with salt and pepper to taste. Score the skin with a knife and sear the breast, skin-side down, until golden brown and fat has rendered, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove most of the fat, turn the breasts over and place them in the oven and cook for 10 to12 minutes for medium rare doneness, remove duck and brush liberally with the Spicy Black Grape Sauce. Let duck rest for 10 minutes, slice each breast on the bias. Serve with Black Pepper Spoon Bread.;
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a small saucepan, over medium heat, bring the milk to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and stir in cornmeal. Cook, stirring until cornmeal begins to thicken and remove from the heat. Continue to stir mixture off heat for approximately 5 minutes or until it is warm, not hot. Add the egg yolks, buttermilk, butter, baking soda, salt and sugar. Combine well Beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold the egg whites, half of the Parmesan and the pepper into the batter. Butter a 12 by12-inch casserole dish. Pour the batter into the casserole dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is golden and the spoonbread is soft. Cut into squares and serve hot.;