Pink Duck Breast With Armagnac And Chocolate Sauce Recipes

DUCK BREASTS A LA D'ARTAGNAN

Steps:

• Using a sharp knife, score the skin side of each breast in a cross-hatch pattern, making the squares as small as possible without cutting into the meat of the breast. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add duck breasts to skillet, skin-side down, and reduce heat to medium. Cook, removing fat from pan as necessary, until skin is crisp, about 6 minutes. Turn, and cook until firm, about 3 minutes more. Transfer duck breasts to a cutting board and tent with parchment paper-lined aluminum foil and let rest.
• Drain all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet and place over medium heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring, until translucent; add wine and cook until reduced by half. Remove skillet from heat and add Armagnac; carefully ignite to flambe. Add demi-glace and figs or plums and jam, if making fig or plum version; cook until reduced by half. Season sauce with salt and pepper and stir in blackberry jam and 1/2 cup blackberries for blackberry version or truffle butter for truffle version.
• Slice each duck breast crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices and fan out on each of 4 plates. Drizzle sauce over duck and serve immediately. If making blackberry version, garnish with remaining blackberries.

SEARED DUCK BREAST WITH BLACKBERRY PAN SAUCE

Steps:

• Pat the duck breasts dry. Score the fat on the top of each breast, cutting down to the flesh.
• Heat a large skillet over MEDIUM-LOW. Salt and pepper the breast liberally.
• Place them in the skillet, fat side down, and render the fat for 10-12 minutes. A dark golden crust should form as the fat melts away.
• Flip the breasts and cook another 6-10 minutes for medium-rare meat.
• Remove from the pan and tent with foil.
• Carefully pour the duck fat into a glass container to store for later use.
• Raise the heat to medium, and add the shallots to the pan. Saute for 3-5 minutes to soften and brown.
• Mix the flour into the blackberry jam. Then add the jam, bourbon, beef stock, red pepper and thyme.
• Stir and bring to a low boil. Simmer for 5-7 minutes to thicken. Salt and pepper to taste.
• Slice the duck breasts thin and serve topped with blackberry pan sauce.

DUCK BREAST WITH ORANGE SAUCE

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 200C.
• Score the fat side of the duck breasts with a sharp knife in a criss-cross pattern, with say a 1cm gap between the scores. Season the breast with salt and pepper.
• Put the breasts fat side down into a heated ovenproof skillet and cook on the hob until the fat side is crispy. This should take about 4-5 minutes.
• While pan frying the duck prepare the sauce ingredients by putting the stock, honey, soy sauce, red wine, ginger, orange juice and tomato puree into a measuring jug and whisking together.
• During this time a lot of fat will be released from the duck. Discard the excess fat (or retain for your next batch of roast potatoes) and then turn the breasts over and cook the other side for about 2 minutes.
• Afterwards, again relieve of any excess fat, and place the pan in the oven for a further 2-3 minutes. Remove from the oven, relieve of any fat again, and set the duck breasts aside to rest.
• Then pour the contents of the measuring jug into the same pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for a few minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
• Slice the duck breast and serve up with the orange sauce poured over the slices.

PINK DUCK BREAST WITH ARMAGNAC AND CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• One day in advance: Marinate the grapes in 4 tsp of Armagnac. Place on one side. Dry off the duck breast fillets. Use a sharp knife to cut the skin in a criss-cross pattern, without cutting into the flesh. Drizzle the rest of the Armagnac over the duck breasts. Place aside in a cool place.
• On the day of preparation: Chop up the shallots. Preheat the oven, and the tray to 80 °C. Season the duck breast fillets with salt and pepper.Without adding any fat, sear them first on the skin side for 3-4 minutes, and then on the flesh side for 1-2 minutes. Lay them flesh side down on the roasting tray, and cook gently for 50 minutes.
• Sauté the shallots in the meat juices in the searing pan until golden brown. Dust the corn flour over them and continue to simmer briefly. Add the red wine. Top up with stock. Simmer for ten minutes over a low heat.
• Sieve into another pan. Add the grapes in Armagnac and the green pepper corns. Break up the chocolate and add to the sauce. Dissolve into the sauce over a medium heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place on one side.
• Remove the duck from the oven. Slice and arrange on warmed plates. Pour the sauce around.
• HINT. Serve with fennel and wild rice mix.

CRISP DUCK BREAST WITH PINK PEPPERCORN SAUCE

Steps:

• Halve duck breasts and trim excess fat. Pat duck dry. Pierce skin of duck all over with a fork and score with a knife to allow fat to drain and help skin become crisp. Season duck with salt. Heat a large heavy skillet (preferably cast-iron) over high heat until very hot. Put duck, skin sides down, in skillet and immediately reduce heat to moderately low. Cook duck 20 minutes, or until skin is mahogany-colored and most of fat is rendered. Remove fat from skillet with a metal bulb baster or by very carefully pouring it off. (Reserve 1 tablespoon rendered fat for Sautéed Kohlrabi and Watercress) Turn duck over and cook 2 minutes more. Transfer duck to a cutting board and let stand 5 minutes. (Duck will continue to cook as it stands until it reaches medium.)
• While duck is standing, in a small saucepan boil demiglace until reduced to about 3/4 cup and add vinegar, sugar, and peppercorns. Remove pan from heat and keep sauce warm, covered.
• Diagonally cut duck breast halves and serve with sauce.

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.