Roasted Duck Breast with Sour Cherries
Finished and delicious!
We got our breasts whole, so after splitting them, and trimming the excess fat, we scored them. To properly score, cut through 99% of the fat, but try not to cut into the flesh. This allows...
We used a cherry pitter to take care of these sour cherries -- made the process much faster.
Here, we're setting up all the ingredients for the sauce, so they're ready to go once the duck is out of the oven.
You want to make sure to season both sides of the duck, and to do so aggressively. And while you're seasoning your duck, it's a good idea to turn the heat on, and warm the pan -- fat in a...
While the duck looks a touch crowded here, the fat will quickly begin to render, and the flesh will tighten, leaving ample space. You'll want to keep the heat in the medium range, so that...
Instead of pouring all the fat off at the end, we poured it off periodically through the cooking process. It makes the process slightly safer (much less splattering fat), and it avoids the...
The breasts are finished rendering when they're a deep golden brown, and a relatively thin layer of fat remains. They should be a touch darker around the edges, and crisp.
Because we poured off the fat during cooking, only about 2T (what the recipe called for ) was left in the pan after roasting. Furthermore, there were some good looking juices that had appeared...
Soften the shallots before adding the fruit.
After we added the liquid, but before we brought the sauce to a boil, we switched pans. Boiling liquid in cast iron will turn it grey and cloudy. Gross.
Slice the duck on a slight bias.
Merrill's "helping" Amanda. Clearly.
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Author Notes: I was at my local farmer's market last week and saw a box of beautiful sour cherries. I'd never cooked with them before but I bought them anyway. My mother suggested I put them in a tart but I decided to try them with duck breast. Everyone was happy with the results. - sweet enough
Food52 Review: Like Heather, we had never cooked with sour cherries before. The raw cherries were pristine and nearly translucent, with a cautious nibble prompting a serious pucker. Simmering the cherries with the shallots, apricots, thyme, stock and wine mellows their tartness and gives rise to a bright, fragrant sauce that complements the duck, an often gamey bird. Helen, our duck guru, showed us how to properly render the fat by keeping the heat at a slow, steady burn and (carefully) pouring off the fat every once in a while so that the breasts wouldn't start to deep-fry. - A&M - A&M
Serves 4
- 4 duck breasts with skin on
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 cup fresh sour cherries, pitted, stems removed
- 4 fresh apricots, sliced in quarters
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1/3 cup apricot nectar
- 1/3 cup red wine (I used a Pinot Noir)
- heat oven to 450 degrees. rinse and pat dry the duck breasts and score the fat in a cross hatch pattern. Sprinkle both sides with salt and papper. Place them fat side down in a heavy pan over a medium high heat for about 7 minutes or until the fat is golden brown.
- turn the breast over and place a sprig of thyme under each breast. place the pan in the oven and roast for about 7 to 10 minutes depending on how you like it cooked. remove the breasts from the pan and place on a serving dish and cover tightly with foil.
- pour off all but about two tablespoons of the duck fat. place the minced shallots in the fat and cook over medium heat for about 3 to 4 minutes. add the cherries and apricots and cook for about 1 minute then add the stock, nectar and wine. cook over medium heat until the sauce is reduced by about half. discard the thyme sprigs and correct seasoning.
- slice each breast and fan the meat on each plate. spoon sauce over the meat and serve.
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about 1 year ago JanetRoss
How about using canned sour cherries in this recipe? Fresh sour cherries are hard to find in February, even in southern California. How would you change the recipe, if at all?
over 1 year ago JanetRoss
How about using canned sour cherries in this recipe? Fresh sour cherries are hard to find in February, even in southern California. How would you change the recipe, if at all?
over 3 years ago gabrielaskitchen
I thought I'd only eat Chinese roast duck, but now I think I will eat yours too!
over 3 years ago sweet enough
thank you for all your nice comments! I'm sorry to have not responded until now but I didn't see these until now. Anyway, jarred cherries would certainly work.
over 3 years ago NakedBeet
Love love the combination! (I'm a sour cherry fanatic) How do you think sour cherries in a jar (just in water) would work with this since they're already softened?
over 3 years ago lastnightsdinner
So nice to meet you last night! I will definitely have to try this - looks fabulous, and I'm always on the lookout for new duck preparations.
over 3 years ago luvcookbooks
Meg is a trusted home cook.
Heather,
I received a gift of frozen sour cherries for Rosh Hashanah and made the duck recipe. I used onions b/o no shallots, caramelized with about a teaspoon of sugar, and nectarines and plums b/o no apricots, port b/o I like port, and cherry juice b/o no apricot nectar. Added salt and pepper and 1 tsp of Koszciusko mustard. It was so good with the duck over rice, thank you!!