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Duck Breast with Blackberry and Chambord Sauce

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Duck with Black Berry17Duck is one of my very favourite meats and certainly my favourite form of fowl. I know some people have the same aversion to this fine feathered creature as they do to lamb, rabbit, and venison — the four of which would be my holy trinity of proteins if they weren’t actually a quartet. I know that some might think it ‘gamey’ even if they got past the animal itself. I’m not going to convince you to love duck or tell you that you’re wrong — but if you have an open mind to trying it and/or want the experience of making this tried and tested duck breast in your own home, then the answer to “how” follows.

Duck with Blackberry-Chambord Sauce (plated)Yes, this is the third duck recipe I’ve posted, each with a different and somewhat seasonal sauce. Yes, I might have a small cookbook devoted to duck in the works one day, but for now, here’s a dish made for New Year’s eve and your special person at home … or a great New Year’s Day dinner with family. But given the the general availability of blackberries, you can make this any time of year and because it will only take you three-quarters of an hour from stop to finish, you can easily make this any night of the week which makes it a favourite for that last-minute dinner party you don’t know you’re having yet ….

The recipe is pretty straightforward and the steps pretty simple. The sauce is really a blackberry coulis that is recooked and ‘naturally’ sweetened with the Chambord liqueur. If you don’t know Chambord liqueur, you’re about to. It’s a delicious, not too sweet and not too strong (i.e. boozy) raspberry spirit which I personally love cooking with in many recipes. The blackberries I thought would be an awesome pairing being of their natural tartness which would play off the richness of the duck … but the berries, at least this time of year, are too tart to go on their own, so I simply used the liqueur as the sweetener. Easy, peasy.

Duck Cooked PerfectlyThe duck itself? Well, you may follow the recipe carefully a few times, but once you’ve done it once or twice, you’ll see how ridiculously easy it is. It’s really no harder than cooking a really good steak — and who needs a recipe for that, right? The secret is scoring the duck to allow the fat to ‘melt’ off the skin and cook the meat; the secret to this, is low direct heat which melts the fat and and allows the skin to cook at the same rate as the meat without burning the skin or leaving too much fat on the breast. This is then followed with indirect but high heat in the oven to finish with a slight rest at the end before carving. That’s it … but if you don’t trust me, read the recipe and follow the steps and enjoy.

Here’s hoping that 2015 brings to each of us our own wishes of prosperity, health, family, and love. Happy New Year.

 

 

Duck Breast with Blackberry and Chambord Sauce
Recipe Type: Main
Cuisine: Fusion
Author: Dale Schierbeck
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-6
If you love duck but thought it too complicated to make at home, think again. This is a 5-star recipe that dresses the richness of a duck breast with the sweet-tartness of a blackberry sauce that will have you wondering, how would this be on ice cream (but I digress) … and it takes less time than it takes to get dressed and drive to a restaurant.
Ingredients
  • 2x half-pound (250g) duck breasts with skin-on
  • Avocado or olive oil to coat the duck
  • Kosher Salt
  • Sprinkling of paprika
  • Fresh ground black pepper
  • [br]
  • 8-10 large black berries
  • 1/2 cup (125mL) water
  • 1/2 cup (125mL) Chambord liqueur
  • 2 tablespoons (30mL) apple cider vinegar
  • pinch ground cinnamon
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC).[br]
  2. Start the sauce by rinsing the blackberries and placing them in a small saucepan with a 1/2 cup of water. It should come up about half way up the berries. Note, the water really has no other purpose than to poach so adjust as necessary.
    Add blackberries to saucepan
    Turn water up to medium and bring to a light simmer. Once the heat hits the berries, they’ll start to change colour.
    Blackberries change colour

    and after about 12-15 minutes, the water should be about half evaporated and the berries will be plump and mushy.
    Berries are cooked
    Transfer berries to a medium mesh strainer (just big enough to capture the seeds) and place over a medium glass/ceramic bowl (something that one stain). Using the back of a spoon or spatula, press and work the berries through the strainer, capturing the seeds in the strainer.
    strain the blackberries
    Return the now strained blackberry sauce back to the saucepan and add the cinnamon and the 1/2 cup of Chambord liqueur and the apple cider vinegar.
    Add Chambord to berries

    Bring sauce back to a simmer for about 15 minutes until the alcohol has cooked off and sauce is consistency of a light maple syrup.
    Blackberry Chambord Sauce

    Remove from heat while you finish the duck. You can quickly ‘heat’ the sauce again when the duck is ‘resting.’

  3. Meanwhile and while the berries are just poaching above, begin to prepare the duck. Start by washing the duck beasts under cold water and then patting them dry on a paper towel. Then, taking an extremely sharp knife carefully score the the duck skin on the diagonal, opening up the fat, but not so deep as to nick the meat. Keep your ‘lines’ about 1/4-inch (1-cm) apart. Repeat by scoring diagonally in the opposite direction so that you have ‘diamonds’ in the skin.
    → Note: “Opening up” the skin is essential to allowing the skin to crisp as this will allow the fat to melt off leaving it perfectly crisp and the duck itself moist.
    Tip: If you don’t have a sharp knife (though you should), you can achieve this with a razor blade.
  4. Lightly rub the breasts with oil (this will help spices to stick) and season both sides with duck breasts with salt, pepper and paprika …
    Season the duck breast
    And place the breasts in a large (non-stick) frying pan that can be be placed in the oven.[br]
  5. Begin cooking the duck in the pan cold, skin-side down — I know starting meat cold in a pan is unconventional, but trust me, this will start the fat melting and provide oil in the pan to start the process.[
    Place duck in Pan
    Turn heat to medium and set your timer to 10 minutes. Once you hear the duck fat start to melt in about a minute, immediately reduce to medium-low (or a bit lower if you can) and continue cooking. After a few more minutes, the duck fat will start to well-up around the breast. Carefully spoon this over the breast, basting it in the process. [
    Spoon duck fat over breasts
    After 10 minutes, use a pair of tongs to check under the breast for ‘doneness.’ The breasts will have ‘puffed’ up in the process: this is normal. You want it a dark golden to slightly light-brown. If necessary, fry for another 2-5 minutes depending on doneness and your preferred outcome, however, don’t overcook or burn the skin. Remember, every breast is different; every cook top is different, so judge with your eyes.

    When ready, you tongs to flip the breasts onto the meat-side and cook for another minute.

    Flip the duck breasts with tongs
    Place the pan in the pre-heated oven and roast for 5 minutes (for rare) or [b]6-7 minutes for medium to medium-rare[/b] or 8-9 minutes (for medium-well).
    Remove pan from oven and let the duck rest and cool in the pan for 5 minutes.

  6. Remove breasts to cutting board …
    Duck resting
    … and cut them into roughly 1/2-inch (1-cm) medallions.
  7. Plate the duck, garnish with a couple of fresh berries, and serve with a couple of tablespoons of blackberry-Chambord sauce.
    Duck with Blackberry-Chambord Sauce (plated)
Notes
Ideally, while you can start the sauce first and/or do it separately, you can actually be preparing these two components at the same time and therefore save you a lot of cooking time. Just make sure you time your stages of the duck carefully.[br][br]Served with roasted Brussels sprouts and Pearl Barley Risotto.

Wine Pairing: So many pairings are awesome with this. A great but not young Pinot Noir; a meaty Ripasso would be a great choice as well; and my personal favourite is a petite sirah like this from Bogle which I reviewed recently.


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