Roasted Duck With Mulled Wine Glaze And Poached Pears Recipes

ROASTED DUCK WITH MULLED WINE GLAZE AND POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Bring ducks to room temperature before cooking and pat very dry. Rub each bird with a teaspoon of ghee or oil. Season with a mixture of salt and pepper under the skin and on top of the meat.
• Score the skin in a crosshatch pattern using a sharp knife. Gently make long incisions across the skin without piercing the meat. Place a clove into every other crosshatch mark and wedge them in between the layers of skin. Set the duck aside while you make the mulled wine and preheat the oven to 475.
• In a medium sized pot (big enough to fit four pears), combine the wine, cider, oranges, and spices together. Turn the heat to medium-high until it begins to simmer.
• While the wine is simmering, use a peeler and peel the skin off the pears. Place the pears in the pot with the mulled wine. Adjust the heat to a lower setting and continue to gently simmer until the pears are tender when pricked with a fork (about 25 minutes).
• Remove the pears and set aside on a plate to keep warm.
• Strain the mulled wine and discard the spices and oranges. Reserve a cup of the mulled wine for making the glaze. You can drink the remaining or freeze it for future use.
• Add the cup of wine back to the pot. Turn the heat to high and add 6 tablespoons of honey. Whisk to dissolve and boil fiercely for 10 minutes, then remove from heat. The glaze should be reduced to about half a cup and will thicken into a syrup consistency as it cools.
• Line the bottom of a cast iron skillet with a touch of oil. Spread the red onion slices across to act as a roasting rack for the ducks. Place the ducks on top and roast in the oven. A small duck, such as teal, will only need about 15 minutes to cook. A larger duck could take up to 15-25 minutes. You want to cook it until the internal temperature of the breast reaches 135 degrees for medium-rare. At this point, the legs might not be done. You can either roast the whole bird until the legs are done, resulting in a medium cooked breast, or carve the legs off and sear in a cast iron skillet to finish.
• During the last 5 minutes of cooking, brush the mulled wine glaze over the duck and drizzle over the red onions.
• Allow the duck to rest 5-10 minutes. Serve with the caramelized red onions and poached pears. Drizzle extra glaze over the top of everything.

RED-WINE-BRAISED DUCK LEGS WITH ROASTED PEARS AND ONIONS

Steps:

• Trim excess fat from duck legs, reserving fat for the sautéed kale. In a large bowl marinate duck legs in wine with bouquet garni, covered and chilled, 2 hours.
• Transfer legs to a plate, reserving wine and bouquet garni. In a heavy kettle large enough to hold legs in one layer heat oil over moderately high heat until hot. Pat legs dry with paper towels and season with salt. Cook legs, skin sides down, 20 minutes, or until skin is crisp and mahogany-colored, removing fat from kettle as it rendered with a metal bulb baster (or very carefully pouring it off). Turn legs and cook until browned on other side, about 2 minutes, transferring as browned to a plate.
• Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons fat from kettle and sauté vegetables with salt to taste, stirring occasionally, until tender and lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Add duck legs, skin sides up, with parsley sprigs and reserved wine and bouquet garni and simmer, covered, 1 1/2 hours, or until tender. Braised duck legs may be prepared up to this point 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Reheat mixture over low heat, adding 1/3 cup water, before proceeding with duck preparation.
• Make roasted pears and onions during last hour of duck braising:
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• In a shallow baking pan large enough to hold onions and pears in one layer melt butter in oven and swirl pan to coat. Add onion halves, cut sides down, and quarters, and bake 30 minutes. Add pears, cut side down, to pan and bake 20 minutes, or until pears and onions are tender and lightly browned. In a cup stir together lemon juice, honey, and salt and add to onions and pears, tossing to coat.
• Transfer duck legs to a warm plate and keep warm, covered with foil. Discard parsley sprigs and bouquet garni and strain liquid into a 1-quart measuring cup, reserving vegetables. Let liquid stand until fat rises to top and skim and discard fat. Return liquid to kettle and simmer until reduced to about 2 cups. Add beurre manié, a little at a time, whisking, and boil 2 minutes. Stir reserved vegetables and minced parsley into sauce and heat through if necessary.
• Serve duck legs, with sauce spooned over them and garnished with parsley sprigs, with roasted pears and onions.

MULLED WINE POACHED PEARS WITH TOASTED ALMONDS

Steps:

• In a large saucepan set over medium-high heat, add the wine, 5 ounces of the honey, the cloves, chiles, cinnamon, star anise and vanilla seeds, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and add the pears. Submerge the pears fully by placing a plate small enough to fit in the pan, over the pears. Cook until tender, 20 to 22 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Refrigerate the pears in the cooking liquid until cool, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, combine the remaining 5 tablespoons honey, the cream cheese and lemon zest in a bowl, and beat with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
• Place 1 ounce of the cream cheese mixture on each plate, then top each with 2 pieces of pear, and sprinkle almonds over the top to serve.

MULLED PEARS WITH ROQUEFORT DRESSING

Steps:

• Put the pears in a pan large enough to fit them in a single layer on the base. Pour over the wine and 300ml water, sprinkle over the sugar, then add the cinnamon stick. Put a small saucepan lid on top so the pears stay submerged under the liquid, then simmer for 10 mins until tender, but not mushy. Cool in the liquid, then chill until ready to eat. Can be made the previous day.
• Make the dressings. First, mix the vinegar and oil with seasoning in a bowl. Make the Roquefort dressing by slowly warming the cheese in a pan with the crème fraîche.
• Toast the pecans in a dry pan, then set aside. Take the pears from their poaching liquid, slice them three-quarters of the way up from the base toward the stalk end, then fan out on plates. Toss the watercress in the vinegar and oil dressing, pile onto the plates, then sprinkle over the nuts. Pour the warm Roquefort dressing around the pears or serve in shot glasses or mini jugs on the plates for guests to pour themselves.