Cinnamon Scented Duck On Cherry Sauce Food

DUCK BREASTS WITH CITRUS PORT CHERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Score the skin of the duck breast with a knife in 2 directions, crossing over each other (makes a crosshatch). Season both sides of each duck breast with salt and pepper.
• In a large nonstick skillet, over medium-high heat, place the duck breasts skin side down. Sear the breasts until the skin is golden brown about 10 minutes, flip and sear the other side for just 3 minutes. Place the seared duck breasts in a baking dish skin side up, and put them in oven. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove the duck breasts from the oven and allow them to rest for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, pour off most excess fat from skillet, and place it back on the stovetop over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute until translucent. Pour in the port wine and orange juice, and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the orange zest and chopped cherries and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 5 minutes to reduce the mixture and thicken, mashing the cherries with the back of a wooden spoon to extract flavor as they cook.
• Slice the breasts into 1/4-inch slices on a diagonal. Pour the cherry port sauce over the top and enjoy!
• Cook's Note: excess duck fat can be refrigerated and is great for cooking potatoes or eggs.

CRISP-TENDER ROAST DUCK WITH CHERRY-ROSEMARY SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Rinse the duck inside and out and pat dry. Trim any excess fat from the neck and cavity, snip off wingtips and discard. Mix 1 tablespoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl, and sprinkle the bird inside and out. Using a paring knife, make dozens of slits through the skin and fat (taking care not to pierce the meat) all over both sides and all parts of the bird.
• Put the duck breast-side up on a rack in a roasting pan and roast for 1 hour. Take the bird out of the oven, transfer to a platter and carefully drain the fat from the pan into a measuring cup (you'll end up getting 2 to 3 cups). Return the duck to the pan, prick with the knife again, turn it breast-side down and roast another hour. Repeat each hour, roasting the duck for a total of 4 1/2 hours.
• While the duck cooks, make the sauce: In a small saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon duck fat over medium heat and cook the shallots until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the cherries, stock, preserves, honey and rosemary, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the lemon juice, swirl in the butter and taste for salt and pepper. Set aside until the duck is finished.
• After 4 1/2 hours of roasting, turn the oven temperature up to 350 degrees F, prick the duck skin one last time, salt the skin again and return bird to the oven, breast-side up. Roast for 30 minutes until the skin is nicely browned.
• Remove from the oven, tent with foil and let rest for 20 minutes. Gently reheat the sauce over low heat. Carve the duck, put the pieces on a serving platter and serve with sauce.

DUCK WITH CHERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Prick skin of duckling well and place breast side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Tie drumsticks together. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 2 to 2-1/2 hours or until juices run clear and a thermometer reads 180°. (Drain fat from pan as it accumulates.) Cover and let stand 20 minutes before carving. , Meanwhile, for sauce, combine preserves and vinegar in a small saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until heated through. Serve with duck. Garnish platter with fruit and kale if desired.

HONEY-LACQUERED DUCK WITH SOUR CHERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Put 10-12 sage leaves into a small saucepan with 1 cup of water and bring to the boil; simmer for 7 minutes and remove from heat; remove leaves and allow to cool.
• Wash the duck out and pat dry with paper towels; season generously with salt and put on a plate in the refrigerator to air-dry for 1 hour (2 hours is even better ;-) ).
• In a small saucepan, combine sage infusion, honey, balsamic vinegar and soy sauce and bring to the boil; boil at medium-high heat for 7-8 minutes until mixture becomes slightly syrupy and is reduced to 2/3 of a cup; pour 1/3 cup+ 1 tblsp into measuring cup and keep remainder in saucepan.
• Preheat oven to 415F°.
• Put duck in roasting pan, breast-side-down and roast for ½ an hour (drain fat off, retain); turn duck breast-side-up and roast ½ an hour longer (drain fat off again, retain); brush duck with the honey glaze and continue roasting 15 minutes; after the 15 minutes, turn duck so that it is breast-side-down again and brush with more honey glaze, do this once more after 15 minutes then turn duck breast-side-up again, brush with glaze and roast for a final 15 minutes; in all, the duck will have roasted a total of 2 hours and have had 4 glazings, 1 up, 2 down, and the last one up again; remove roaster from oven and allow duck to stand for 10 minutes while you finish the sauce.
• Pour off the fat you have retained into a small container (duck fat is great for frying potatoes!) and pour any accumulated duck juices into the saucepan containing the remaining honey glaze; add the cherries and any accumulated cherry juices as well as the cinnamon and bring to a boil; boil for 7-8 minutes, or until cherry sauce has become slightly-thickened and syrupy (if you want your sauce slightly thicker, you can sprinkle 1/2-3/4 tsp of cornstarch over cherries).
• Carve duck (in our case, this just means quartering the duck), and serve with the sour cherry sauce.
• Note: I have a special double-lined roaster, with one inclined tray with a hole in it fitting over a classic pan, this allows the fat to drain off the roasting meat, drip through the hole, and gather in the pan underneath; if you do not own this type of pan, use a classic roaster but drain fat off roasting duck more often.

CINNAMON SCENTED DUCK BREAST WITH A BALSAMIC REDUCTION

Steps:

• For the duck, mix the cinnamon and the sugar.
• Score the fat of the duck breast and season with salt and pepper.
• Spread the cinnamon sugar over the top and press into the fat.
• Set aside in the fridge to marinate for 4 to 12 hours.
• For the sauce, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and heat until the sauce has reduced by at least half, to a syrupy consistency.
• Sear the duck breast in a non-stick pan over a medium heat until the fat has rendered and the skin is crispy, about 4 minutes.
• Transfer the duck breasts to a 375°F oven to finish cooking for about 7 minutes.
• Remove the breasts from the oven and set aside in a warm place to rest for a couple of minutes before slicing very thinly.
• Serve the sauce with the duck.

EASY PLUM JAM

Steps:

• Sterilise the jars and any other equipment before you start (see tip). Put a couple of saucers in the freezer, as you'll need these for testing whether the jam is ready later (or use a sugar thermometer). Put the plums in a preserving pan and add 200ml water. Bring to a simmer, and cook for about 10 mins until the plums are tender but not falling apart. Add the sugar, ground cinnamon and lemon juice, then let the sugar dissolve slowly, without boiling. This will take about 10 mins.
• Increase the heat and bring the jam to a full rolling boil. After about 5 mins, spoon a little jam onto a cold saucer. Wait a few seconds, then push the jam with your fingertip. If it wrinkles, the jam is ready. If not, cook for a few mins more and test again, with another cold saucer. If you have a sugar thermometer, it will read 105C when ready.
• Take the jam off the heat and add the cinnamon sticks (if using) and the knob of butter. The cinnamon will look pretty in the jars and the butter will disperse any scum. Let the jam cool for 15 mins, which will prevent the lumps of fruit sinking to the bottom of the jars. Ladle into hot jars, seal and leave to cool. Will keep for 1 year in a cool, dark place. Chill once opened.