Duck Breast A Lorange Food

DUCK BREAST A L'ORANGE

Steps:

• Place sugar in a medium saucepan 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 in this manner until sugar is a deep amber color.
• Remove caramel from heat and carefully stir in vinegar, orange zest and juice, chicken broth, and shallot. Return to medium-high heat and boil, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 2/3 cup, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Score fat of duck breasts with the tip of a knife in a crosshatch pattern to form 1-inch diamonds. Season both sides of breasts with salt and pepper. Place breasts, fat side down, in a medium skillet and place over medium-high heat. Cook undisturbed until skin is crisp and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Flip and continue cooking to desired doneness, about 8 minutes more for medium-rare (125 degrees). Allow meat to rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
• Add orange supremes to sauce and pour over sliced duck just before serving.

DUCK A L'ORANGE

Steps:

• For the gastrique sauce: Combine the orange juice, sugar, garlic, orange liqueur, ginger and 2 cups of the vinegar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the mixture reduces by half, about 20 minutes. Remove 1 cup of the reduction and set aside for the candied kumquats.
• Strain the remainder of the reduction left in the saucepan and transfer to a large high-sided saute pan. Cook over high heat until reduced by half again, about 15 minutes. Make small slits in the habanero with a paring knife, add it to the reduction and let cook for 5 minutes more. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the butter and cook until it melts. Add the parsley, chives, peppercorns and thyme and season with salt and pepper.
• For the duck confit: Whisk together the cinnamon, chile powders, cumin, coriander, ginger, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, allspice, cloves, fennel seed, cayenne, chile de arbol and 2 tablespoons of the black pepper in a small bowl and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat, add the bacon and cook until lightly golden brown on both sides and the fat has rendered, about 10 minutes. Remove the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place a baking rack on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Season the duck legs with salt, pepper and some of the spice rub. Store any remaining spice rub in an airtight container for a later use. Place the legs fat-side down in the baking drippings in the nonstick pan. Cook slowly over medium heat until the skin is very crisp, about 10 minutes. Turn them over and cook until the other side is crisp, 10 minutes more. Transfer the prepared baking sheet and keep warm in theoven until ready to serve.
• For the duck breasts: Season the duck breasts on both sides with salt and pepper and place skin-side down in a cast iron pan. Cook slowly over medium heat, draining the rendered fat from the pan a few times, until the skin is very crisp, about 25 minutes. Turn the breasts over and continue cooking to medium and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 140 degrees F. Remove to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
• For the candied kumquats: Bring the reserved 1 cup gastrique to a boil in a small saucepan, reduce the heat to low, add the kumquarts and cook until soft and candied, about 20 minutes.
• For the cranberry relish: Combine the orange juice and honey in a small saute pan, bring to a boil and cook until reduced by a quarter, about 3 minutes. Add the cranberries and cook until they pop and the mixture thickens slightly, about 10 minutes more. Set aside until ready to serve.
• To serve: Spoon some of the gastrique onto 4 large dinner plates. Top with the duck confit and the sliced duck and spoon some of the cranberries and kumquarts on the sides. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.

DUCK A L'ORANGE

Steps:

• Stir sugar and water in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; boil until syrup turns deep amber, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Mix in vinegar (mixture will bubble vigorously). Add juice and shallots; boil until reduced to 1/2 cup, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Add broth; boil until reduced to 3/4 cup, 30 minutes. Set aside.
• Using small knife, cut off peel and white pith from 4 oranges. Working over bowl, cut between membranes to release segments. (Sauce and oranges can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Cover separately; chill.)
• Using small knife, score duck skin (do not pierce meat) in crosshatch pattern. Sprinkle duck with salt and pepper. Heat heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Place duck breasts skin side down in skillet. Cook until brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Turn duck and cook to desired doneness, about 10 minutes longer for medium-rare. Transfer to cutting board. Let stand 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring sauce to simmer. Add butter and 1 tablespoon grated orange peel; whisk just until butter melts. Drain orange segments and mix into sauce. Set aside.
• Slice duck breasts crosswise on diagonal. Arrange on 4 plates. Spoon orange segments with sauce alongside. Sprinkle with remaining peel.

CLASSIC DUCK A L'ORANGE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a saucepan, boil the sugar and water for several minutes until the syrup caramelizes and turns a golden brown color.
• Add the sherry vinegar, orange juice, shallots, and chicken stock and simmer until the sauce is reduced to a little less than 1 cup.
• Cut the cold butter into small pieces and add to the pan with 1 tablespoon of orange zest.
• Shake the pan back and forth over medium heat until the butter has melted and is incorporated into the sauce.
• Stir in the orange sections.
• The sauce can be cooled and stored until you're ready to prepare the duck breasts, or you can set it aside and proceed with cooking the breasts.
• Pat dry the 2 half breasts with paper towels.
• Slash through the fat on the breast with a sharp knife to create a crisscross pattern. This will help release the fat, which will crisp up the skin while cooking.
• Sprinkle both the meat side and the fat with a little sea salt and pepper.
• Heat a skillet over high heat. Sear the duck breasts quickly on both sides, then cook the duck for 9 to 11 minutes on each side. (The USDA recommends cooking duck to 160 F or 170 F, but if you prefer it pinker, cook to medium-rare, 135 F to 140 F; it is still safe to eat.)
• Remove the breasts from the pan and place on a warm plate. Cover with paper towels and leave them to rest for 5 minutes. This helps to soften the duck after cooking.
• Reheat the sauce.
• Place the duck on a hot plate, either whole or neatly sliced. Spoon the sauce over the duck. Garnish the plate with the remaining orange zest.
• Serve immediately and enjoy.

DUCK A L'ORANGE

Steps:

• Use a sharp knife to score the skin side of the duck breasts in 2 directions, about 20 slashes per direction. Season the breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. Reserve in the refrigerator.
• Cut off 1 end so the orange can stand on the cutting board, and slice off 2 (2-inch) strips of zest. Cut the zest into fine julienne, then blanch the zest for 1 minute in the cup of boiling water. Juice the orange, strain the juice into a saucepan, and boil it until it's reduced to about 1 tablespoon.
• If you're using the kumquats instead, cut the round ends off the kumquats and eat or discard them. Set the kumquats on 1 end and use a sharp paring knife to trim the zest off three of them. Cut all the kumquats in half lengthwise, and working over a strainer set in a non-reactive bowl, remove the pulp with a small spoon. Push the pulp against the strainer to extract the juice. (Don't worry if you end up with only a tablespoon or 2.) Place the kumquat zests on a cutting board and slice them into fine julienne. Bring the 1/2 cup water to a boil over high heat, blanch the zests for 1 minute, then drain them in a strainer.
• If you're using concentrated duck broth, reduce it in a small saucepan to about 2 tablespoons until it's lightly syrupy.
• Heat a saute pan over medium to high heat and saute the duck breasts, skin side down, 8 to 10 minutes for the Pekin duck breasts and 12 to 18 minutes for the mallard. Turn the breasts over, adjust the heat to high, and cook for 1 minute for the Pekin duck and 2 minutes for the mallard.
• Pour the fat out of the pan ¿ if it hasn't burned, save it for omelets ¿ and deglaze the pan with the reduced kumquats or orange juice. Use a whisk to add the glaze. Add the sugar, Grand Marnier, kumquat or orange zest, and vinegar, and simmer the sauce for about 30 seconds to cook off the alcohol. At this point, adjust the thickness of the sauce ¿ its consistency is up to you, but many cooks make their sauces too thick; add 1 or 2 teaspoons water to thin it or simmer the sauce for a moment to reduce and thicken it. Whisk in the cold butter, keeping the pan and whisk moving until all the butter melts. (Don't let it sit without whisking or the butter will separate.) Season, to taste, with the pepper, and if necessary, a few more drops of vinegar.
• Slice the breasts crosswise, arrange the slices on individual heated plates, and spoon the sauce over the breasts. Serve hot, with orange wedges if desired.

DUCK BREAST A L'ORANGE, ASIAN STYLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Make marinade: combine all marinade ingredients in a bowl; mix well.
• Add the duck; turn to coat evenly; let stand for 10 minutes.
• Make the sauce: combine the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan; set aside.
• Place a nonstick, ovenproof frying pan over high heat until hot; place duck, skin side down, in the pan and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes.
• Turn the breasts over and cook 3 minutes.
• Place the pan in the oven and roast until the duck is med-rare, 8-10 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let duck rest for 5 minutes; do not cover the duck or the skin will not be crisp.
• While the duck is resting, bring the sauce to a boil over med-high heat; cook until it reduces slightly, about 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat, add the orange segments; stir to coat.
• Slice the duck and arrange on a serving platter; pour the sauce over the duck and sprinkle with crystallized ginger.