Ease of Preparation: Medium
Time of Preparation: 1 hour, plus 2 hours curing time
Yield: 4 servings
Duck a l ’orange sounds fancy, but we’ve made the process simple here by just using the fatty and flavorful duck breasts! With a quick cure and gentle cooking, they absorb all the sweet flavours of the sauce and bonus! Duck fat potatoes as a side!
Ingredients:
Duck Breasts:
- 2 8-10 ounce (227-283 g) boneless duck breasts, trimmed
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) coarse salt
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) sugar
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon (20 ml) five spice powder, divided
- 1 orange, grated zest only
Sauce:
- 2 cup (470 ml) dry white wine
- 4 tablespoons (60 ml) white wine vinegar
- 4 oranges, juice (zest strips from 2, divided)
- 2 cinnamon stick
- 4 stars anise
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) whole peppercorns
- 2 shallots, chopped
- ½ cup (120ml) sugar
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) veal demi-glace
- Salt and pepper
Duck Fat Potatoes:
- 1 small yellow potato, ends removed, cut into 4 rounds
- Reserved duck fat
- Salt and pepper
- Reserved orange strips, julienned, and pea shoots, to garnish
Method:
For the Duck Breasts:
Make a cure mixture by combining the salt, sugar, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) five-spice, and orange zest. Lay out the mixture in a flat dish.
Place breasts, skin side down, in the dish over the cure mixture (do not season the flesh side, just the skin) and refrigerate for 2 hours.
For the Sauce:
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the white wine, orange juice and half the zest strips, cinnamon, star anise, peppercorns, and shallot.
Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 25-30 minutes until the volume is reduced by half. When ready, strain and reserve warm.
Place sugar in a medium saucepan, add 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of the wine-orange reduction, and set over medium-high heat. As sugar begins to melt, use a fork to gently stir sugar from edges to center of pan. Continue stirring until the sugar mixture is a deep amber color, about 4-5 minutes.
Remove caramel from heat and carefully (beware of splatters) stir in the remaining wine-orange reduction, stirring until combined.
Return the mixture to medium-high heat and boil, stirring occasionally, until uniform and thick.
Stir in the demi-glace and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
To Finish the Duck Breasts:
Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C).
Brush the cure away from the skin of the ducks. Use the tip of a knife to score the fat in a crosshatch pattern to form ½-inch (1.25 cm) diamonds, taking care not to pierce the meat.
Season the flesh with salt, and the whole pieces with pepper and 1 teaspoon (5 ml) five-spice.
Arrange the breasts, skin side down in a cold, medium skillet, then place over medium heat. Cook undisturbed, allowing the pan and its contents to come to heat together.
Keep cooking, without turning, until skin is crisp and golden brown, about 10 minutes.
Increase the heat, then flip and continue cooking to brown the other side, about 2-3 minutes.
Transfer duck breast from the skillet to an oven-ready pan, reserving the fat in the skillet.
Finish the duck in the oven, about 5-10 minutes, until rare to medium rare (internal temperature between 130-145 F/55-63 C).
When ready, tent loosely with foil and let rest for 8 minutes before slicing.
For the Duck Fat Potatoes:
After transferring duck to the oven, heat the reserved duck fat over medium-high heat until shimmering.
Add the potatoes and sizzle 5-7 minutes, until lightly browned and fork tender.
To Serve:
Slice the duck breast and transfer to a serving dish.
Serve with the sauce and Duck Fat Potatoes.
Garnish with orange peel and pea shots.