Do you have a dish or ingredient that you love to eat but dread cooking? I do and it’s duck!
Photo Credit: https://foodergolove.wordpress.com/tag/foie-gras/
I think it stems from my biggest culinary failure when I attempted Duck a l’orange years ago for a dinner party with friends. I overcooked the duck to the point that it was inedible. We ended up throwing away the duck (it was an expensive failure) and eating dessert for dinner.
Other than curing a breast for duck prosciutto and buying prepared duck confit, I never again attempted to cook it, until now! Not sure if it was the discussion about poultry my first week back at culinary school or that I plan on raising a couple of Pekings at the farm this summer, but duck has been on my mind a lot.
For my duck, I went to my local butcher Cumbrea’s where they always have ducks dry-aging in their display case and moulard duck breasts are always available at the counter. The moulard which is a hybrid between the Peking and the Muscovy is a hardy bird used for both meat and foie gras. Duck breast is not cheap at $19.99 per pound (one breast is approximately one pound) but a little does go a long way. Just a few slices can often satiate a dinner guest.
After some online research I decided that sous-vide was the best way to go to avoid throwing away lots of money in the compost bin. I left the meat uncovered in the fridge overnight and then seasoned it with salt and white pepper. After vacuum sealing it, I placed it in a 135 degree water bath for 2 hours. Once done, I patted it dry and seared it in a pan skin side down for about 5 minutes till the fat rendered. Paired with a simple spiced port wine reduction, I finally succeeded in creating a tasty duck dish!
- 1 dry-aged moulard duck breast (~ 1lb)
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- ½ cup Port wine
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- Pinch anise seed (not star anise)
- 3 juniper berries, crushed
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- Salt and pepper (including white pepper)
- ½ teaspoon cold butter
- Place the duck breast on a dish lined with paper towels in the fridge overnight.
- Season breast with salt and white pepper and seal in a bag with a vacuum sealer. Place the bag in a 135 degree Fahrenheit water bath for 2 hours.
- Remove from water bath and pat dry.
- Place the duck breast skin side down on a cold pan and place over medium heat. Once you hear sizzling, increase the heat to medium-high and cook till fat has rendered and skin is crispy (about 5 minutes). Flip the breast and brown the other side for 30 seconds (you just want to get some color not overcook the meat).
- Remove from the pan and let the meat rest while you make the sauce.
- Leaving only about a tablespoon of fat in the pan, sweat shallot over medium heat. Add the vinegar, port, stock and spices. Scrap the pan and let the sauce reduce by about half. Add the syrup and season with salt and pepper. Once the sauce has thickened and can coat the back of a spoon, add the cold butter.
- Strain the sauce, cut the breast in thin slices at an angle and top with the sauce. Enjoy!
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