Duck Breast with Cherry Sauce for two

22 Replies

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I kind of feel like I am having tiny Christmas dinners all throughout the month of December. And I gotta say, I’m lovin’ it.

This is one of those dinners. Simple as can be and festive as can be.

Duck goes really well with any kind of fruit and is usually paired with citrus, but it goes equally well with berries and darker fruits like plums or cherries.

The Duck breast has been treated in a different way because I really dislike the skin. I do like the skin when it’s crispy, but how long does the crispiness last , really? By the time dinner gets to the table and you actually start eating the crispyness is almost gone.
So, what I do and what may seem as a shocker to some of you, but I remove the skin and treat the breast more like a steak. Simply seasoned with salt and pepper and pan fried. I use a cast iron pan for this because it works best in my opinion.

Then I cut up the skin in tiny bits and render the fat, where I then pan roast the potatoes and finish them of in the oven. This gives you the best roast potatoes you can ever imagine, and you’ll be surprised to see how the skin disappears in the pan almost completely.

The cherry sauce goes so well with the duck, it’s a little bit sweet and a little bit sour, perfect against the intense duck flavour, and such a festive dish.

      

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Serves 2 – 3

Ingredients Duck Breasts:

  • 2 Duck breasts
  • salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Remove the Duck from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes prior to cooking.

Remove the skin and chop fine. Place in a cast iron skillet and render the fat over low heat, until all the skin has almost disappeared. You will end up with about 4 to 6 tbsp. fat.

Season the duck breast on both sides, heat a cast iron frying pan over high heat with three tablespoons of the duck fat.
Place both duck breasts in the pan and don’t move them for about 3 minutes then turn the over. Cook for another 3 minutes.
Remove to a plate and let sit covered with foil for about five minutes.
This is medium cooked, if you like it less done cook it for 5 minutes total. For completely done 7 to 8  minutes, it depends a little bit on the size of the duck breast and the thickness.

Slice and serve with the pan roast potatoes and cherry sauce.

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Ingredients Cherry Sauce:

  • 1/2 C. brown Sugar or sugar of choice
  • 1/2 C. Red wine Vinegar
  • 2 whole Star Anise
  • 1 Cinnamon Sticks
  • 3 C. frozen Cherries (no stones)
  • 1 tsp. corn starch
  • 1 tbsp water

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place the sugar, vinegar, star anise and cinnamon in a medium non-stick frying pan over high heat and bring to a simmer. Add the cherries and cook, turning occasionally, for 8–10 minutes or until just soft and the sauce has reduced a little. Make a slurry with the corn starch and water, add to the sauce and let thicken.

For the Roast Potatoes:
1/2 Lb., potatoes, peeled
2 tbsp. fat rendered from duck breasts.
salt

Instructions:

Pre heat oven to 220° C  / 428° F
Par boil the potatoes for about ten minutes, drain, and let them steam off.
Heat the (oven proof) pan with rendered duck fat and roast the potatoes until they start ro turn golden brown. Place the pan in the oven and roast for an other 20 25 minutes until crispy and golden all over, turning ocassionally. Season with salt.

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If you try this recipe let me know! Leave a comment below and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #thecookingspoonblog  on instagram! You’ll make my day.

22 thoughts on “Duck Breast with Cherry Sauce for two”

  1. Anonymous

    Thank you for this recipe. This has become my family’s Christmas tradition over the past 4-5 years. It’s elegant, delicious and relatively easy to make!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  2. Pingback: Our most popular Christmas recipes | TCS

  3. Freya Petersen

    I like how you did the duck breast with the Cherry sauce but there’s nowhere in your recipe that it tells you how to print it. I like to have a printed copy in front of me when I am making something especially when duck can be so expensive. Can you tell me how to print your recipe

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
    1. The Cooking spoon Post author

      Hello Freya, thanks for stopping by. I don’t have a print button but you can either copy and paste onto a word document, or click on the right button on your mouse and select print. Hope this helps.

      Like

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