Duck Breast with Cherry Sauce

Introduction

This is a classic dish where the sweetness of cherry sauce works beautifully with rich duck breast. You also get a lot back from using the whole duck: the legs are saved for later confit in duck fat, the carcass and bones become stock for the sauce, and the extra duck fat goes into the potatoes and keeps for months in the fridge.

Step-by-step

Ingredients

• 1 whole duck, about 2.2-2.6 kg (4.8-5.7 lb)
• 700 g almond potatoes or Yukon Gold style potatoes, peeled if you like and cut into large chunks (1.5 lb)
• 300 g Brussels sprouts, trimmed (10.6 oz)
• 250 g cherries, frozen or thawed (8.8 oz)
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 200 ml red wine (about 0.85 cup)
• 600 ml water (2.5 cups)
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 15 g cold butter (0.5 oz)
• 1-2 tsp honey
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 tbsp neutral oil, if needed

Method

1. Break down the duck into breasts, legs, wings, carcass, and loose bones. Set the legs aside for a later duck confit, and keep the breasts for this dish.
2. Trim off loose duck skin and fat. Put that in a large pot skin-side down with the carcass, wings, and bones, and heat gently so the fat renders out first.
3. Pour the duck fat into a bowl once you have rendered a good amount. Then cover the carcass and bones with 600 ml water (2.5 cups), bring to a boil, and simmer gently for 35-45 minutes until you have a concentrated duck stock. Strain.
4. Trim the duck breasts, score the skin closely without cutting into the meat, and pat them very dry. Season well with salt and pepper, then leave them uncovered while you prep the rest.
5. Boil the potatoes in salted water for 5 minutes. Drain, shake them gently in the bowl until the edges roughen and fluff up, then season with salt and pepper.
6. Sweat the shallots in 1 tbsp duck fat in a small saucepan until soft. Add the cherries, red wine, 300 ml duck stock (1 1/4 cups), and balsamic vinegar, then reduce until the sauce is glossy and clearly concentrated.
7. Strain or blend the sauce smooth if you want a fine finish. Whisk in the cold butter and 1 tsp honey right before serving, and season with salt, pepper, and more honey if needed.
8. Place the duck breasts skin-side down in a cold pan. Turn the heat to medium and cook until plenty of fat has rendered and the skin is dark golden and crisp, about 10-14 minutes.
9. Roast or fry the potatoes in plenty of duck fat in a large pan or on a tray in a 210 C (410 F) oven until fully tender and crisp. Give them space so they fry rather than steam.
10. Turn the duck breasts, cook for 1 minute on the flesh side, then transfer the pan to a 180 C (356 F) oven until the internal temperature approaches 54 C (129 F). Rest the breasts for 8-10 minutes before slicing.
11. Simmer the Brussels sprouts for 3-4 minutes in a little duck stock until just tender. Halve the larger ones and fry quickly in duck fat until browned at the edges.
12. Slice the duck breasts, plate with the crisp potatoes and Brussels sprouts, and spoon the cherry sauce around. Finish with a little extra salt on the duck just before serving.

Serving note

• The duck legs are best lightly salted and later cooked slowly in the strained duck fat for confit.
• Strained duck fat is kitchen gold. Keep it clean in a jar in the fridge and it will hold for months.
• If the sauce turns too sweet, a few extra drops of balsamic or a little more stock will pull it back into balance quickly.