Two 5-pound
ducks
2 teaspoons orange rind, cut into long strings and blanched
2 1/2 teaspoons
chives, cut into 1-inch pieces
Duck Demi-Glace (see recipe)
Sweet Potato-Pear
Purée (see recipe)
Cranberry-Texas Cabernet Sauvignon Sauce (see recipe)
1/4 cup Poached
Cranberries (see recipe)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Rinse ducks, inside and out, then pat dry. With a boning knife, remove
legs on each duck and
reserve them for another use. Remove each duck breast from carcass leaving
the skin on the
meat. You will have 4 individual duck breasts. Reserve carcasses for
Duck Demi-Glace.
Season each breast with salt and pepper. Heat a large saucepan over
medium heat and lay
breasts, skin side down, in pan. Cook for 10 minutes, not turning breasts,
until nicely browned.
The breasts will render their own fat as the meat cooks, leaving the
skin crisp. Do not allow
skin to blacken
or burn. Turn and cook for 4 minutes. Remove from pan and keep warm.
Spoon a small mound of Sweet Potato-Pear Purée in the center
of each of four hot dinner plates.
With a sharp slicing knife, very thinly slice each duck breast on the
bias. Place a sliced duck breast
around the
purée, fanning out the breast. Spoon 3 tablespoons of Cranberry-Texas
Cabernet
Sauvignon
Sauce in front of each breast. Garnish top of sauce with Poached Cranberries,
blanched
orange rind and chives. Serve immediately.
Sweet Potato-Pear Purée
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 pound ripe pears, peeled, cored, and cut into large chunks
2 cinnamon
sticks
1/2 Tablespoon fresh ginger, finely grated
2 cups apple juice
Fresh lemon juice to taste
Salt to taste
Place potatoes, covered with water, in a medium saucepan over high heat.
Bring to a boil. Lower
heat and simmer about 30 minutes or until soft. Drain potatoes. In a
food processor fitted with a
metal blade,
purée until smooth.
Combine remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring
to a boil. Lower heat
and simmer
for 15 minutes or until pears are soft and all liquid has evaporated.
Remove cinnamon
sticks and add mixture to sweet potato purée, blending until
smooth and well combined. Adjust
seasoning,
and keep warm until ready to use.
Cranberry-Texas Cabernet Sauvignon Sauce
1/2 bottle Cabernet Sauvignon
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
Juice of 1 orange
2 1/2 shallots, peeled and chopped
1 serrano
chile, finely chopped
1 large dried ancho chile, seeded
1 cup Demi-Glace (see recipe)
Salt to taste
Combine wine, cranberries,
ginger, juice, shallots and chiles in a medium saucepan over medium
heat. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add Duck
Demi-Glace and cook for
an additional 10 minutes or until sauce is thick enough to coat the
back of a spoon. Season with
salt and lemon juice.
Duck Demi-Glace
Yield: 1-1 1/2 cups
1 Tablespoon peanut oil
2 uncooked duck carcasses, excess fat removed with a knife, chopped
into small pieces
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 teaspoons cracked black pepper
2 shallots, chopped
3 large white mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
1 small bunch fresh thyme
1 cup veal demi-glace (Available at gourmet markets and specialty stores)
2 cups chicken stock, homemade or low-sodium canned
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add bones and
brown evenly for
15 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes to prevent burning. Add onion,
carrot and celery and brown
evenly for 10 minutes. Continue stirring constantly. Add pepper, shallots
and mushrooms and
sauté for 2 minutes. Add thyme, demi-glace, and chicken stock.
Bring to a boil. Lower heat
and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, making sure to reduce liquid slowly
by half. Strain through
a fine sieve and refrigerate until ready to use.
Poached Cranberries
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup orange juice
2 Tablespoons sugar, or to taste
1/4 cup fresh cranberries
Combine water, orange
juice and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil.
Add cranberries and return to a boil. Simmer for 3 minutes or until
the first cranberry pops and
splits open. Remove from heat and let cranberries marinate in the mixture
for another 3 minutes.
Strain and place on a chilled plate until ready to use.
Wine suggestion
Cabernet Sauvignon
Click
here for Cheese Expert Steven Jenkins' Cheese Recommendations
turkey
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