Author Notes
DH (my husband) had a wonderful Syrah from the Rubicon Estate which he wanted to drink, so instead of pairing wine with food, I paired food with wine. Duck is a very lean meat that has a rich yet delicate flavor. It’s surprisingly easy to make and requires very little preparation. The sauce is delicious and can be stored in the fridge and used with turkey, lamb or any game meat.
—Culinista Annouchka
Ingredients
- For the Duck
-
1
boneless Muscovy duck breast, trimmed of excess fat
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Salt and fresh ground pepper
- For the Fig and Port Sauce
-
1 cup
of port, a medium dry port like Quinta do Infantado’s Ruby is great
-
1 cup
fresh or frozen cranberries
-
6-8
fresh figs (black mission or turkish), washed, stemmed and cut in quarters
-
1 tablespoon
of minced fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon of dried thyme)
Directions
-
Preheat the oven at 400 degrees. Sprinkle the duck with salt and pepper.
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Heat a large frying pan over high heat until hot.
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Place the breast, skin side down and cook without turning until its very brown, about 6 minutes.
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Transfer the breast to a baking sheet (lined with tin foil), skin side up and place in the oven. Roast the duck for 8 to 9 minutes for medium-rare (internal temperature of the duck should register 130 degrees).
-
Remove from the oven and cover with foil, let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.
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For the Fig Sauce: Combine the port, cranberries, figs and thyme in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often.
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Reduce heat to low, and simmer until the mixture thickens, the cranberries have popped and the figs have a jammy consistency. This will take about 10 minutes.
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Slice the duck on the bias and serve with the fig and port sauce!
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