Roasted Peking Duck With Pomegranate Sauce Recipes

ROAST DUCK BREASTS WITH POMEGRANATE-CHILE SAUCE

Steps:

• For sauce:
• Stir sugar and 1/2 cup water in heavy large saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; boil until syrup is deep amber color, swirling pan occasionally, about 8 minutes. Add juice, broth, and California chiles. Boil until sauce is reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat; cool. Puree in tightly covered blender until smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl. Whisk in adobo sauce, vinegar, and cumin. Season to taste with generous amount of coarse salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover and chill. Rewarm over low heat before using.
• For duck:
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Score skin of duck (don't cut into flesh) with 5 cuts in 1 direction; repeat in opposite direction, making diamond pattern. Sprinkle duck all over with coarse salt, pepper, and ground coriander. Place 2 large ovenproof skillets over medium-high heat. Add duck, skin side down, to skillets, dividing equally. Cook duck until skin is crisp and deep brown, about 7 minutes. Turn duck over; cook 1 minute. Pour off fat. Transfer skillets to oven. Roast duck until cooked to mediumrare, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer duck to cutting board. Let rest 5 minutes. Thinly slice each breast crosswise on slight diagonal. Arrange slices on plates. Spoon sauce over. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.
• Available at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores and Latin markets.
• ** Dried, smoked jalapeños in a spicy tomato sauce called adobo; available at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores and Latin markets.

DUCK BREAST WITH APPLE-POMEGRANATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat a medium saute pan over medium-high heat and add the oil.
• Cut a crosshatch pattern into the skin of the duck breasts. Be careful to not cut through to the flesh.
• Season the skin side with the curry and the flesh side with salt. Place in the pan, skin side down. Cook on the skin side to render of some of the fat and crisp up the skin, 5 to 7 minutes. Once the skin is crisp, flip the breasts, reduce the heat to medium, and cook on the flesh side for about 4 minutes for medium-rare. Once cooked, remove from the pan and allow the meat to rest for 5 minutes.
• Make the sauce in the same pan used for the duck. (Wipe out the pan if you have burned bits on the bottom, and add some butter.) Place the pan over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon butter. Deglaze the pan with the pomegranate juice. Allow the juice to simmer and reduce by half. Turn off the heat and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Taste and season with a pinch of sugar if the sauce tastes too tart.
• When plating, slice the duck breast thinly and spoon the warm sauce over the duck. Serve with Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Goat Cheese and Sauteed Julienned Vegetables.
• Peel and slice the sweet potatoes into 1/2-inch pieces. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan, fill with water to cover the potatoes, and add some salt. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook the potatoes until fork tender, about 13 minutes. Stick a fork in a potato piece and if it goes in easily, it's done.
• Drain the potatoes well. Transfer them to a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the goat cheese, honey, ginger, cinnamon, butter, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Blend again until everything is well combined. Transfer to a bowl and let cool for 1 minute.
• Spoon the potatoes into a zip-top plastic bag or a pastry bag with a tip for piping, or spoon directly onto plates. If piping, cut a hole in the tip and pipe onto the plate.
• Heat a saute pan over medium heat and add some oil. Saute the julienned vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are just softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Taste a bite and cook for another minute if the vegetables are still hard.

ROASTED PEKING DUCK WITH POMEGRANATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine the apple, chopped ginger, and peppercorns in a bowl. Stuff the mixture into the duck and close the skin using a wooden skewer (to hold in the stuffing). Hang the duck for 2 hours at room temperature (place a pan underneath it to catch the drippings). Place the duck on a pan fitted with a rack (breast side up), and roast in a preheated 375 degree convection oven for 40 minutes. If you don't have a convection oven, roast the duck in a conventional oven at 400 degrees for 55 minutes, or until the duck is a deep golden brown color. To serve, allow duck to rest 5 minutes before cutting. Carefully remove breast and leg from the duck.
• POSTRIO POMEGRANATE SAUCE: In a medium sized saucepot, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add shallots, and sweat, do not cook until the shallots color. Add wines and bring to a boil. Add cinnamon stick, star anise, and rosemary. Reduce wine by 2/3, add chicken stock, demi-glace, and 3/4 cup of the pomegranate seeds, and reduce by half, until sauce reaches a syrupy consistency. Remove sauce from heat, season with salt and pepper, and whisk in the tablespoon of butter. Strain sauce through a fine chinois and serve or keep hot in a hot water bath. When serving sauce, garnish with the leftover 1/4 cup of pomegranate seeds.