Duck Breast With Cherries And Chocolate Food

DUCK WITH CHERRIES AND RED WINE VINEGAR

Steps:

• Trim excess fat from duck breasts, leaving a 1/4-inch layer covering the breast. (Save fat trimmings to render and use for another purpose.) With a sharp knife, lightly score fat cover diagonally in two directions, taking care not to cut too deeply and expose meat. Turn breasts over and remove the thin tenderloins from underside. Trim away any veiny or ragged bits. (Save meaty trimmings for making stock.) Season generously on both sides with salt.
• Pulverize the peppercorns, allspice berries, cloves, bay leaves and fennel seed in a mortar or electric spice mill. Sprinkle spice mixture over duck breasts; massage seasoning into meat on both sides. For more-intense flavor, do this several hours ahead or overnight and refrigerate (recommended). Bring duck to room temperature before cooking.
• Make the sauce: Put turbinado sugar and red wine vinegar in a saucepan and simmer over medium-high heat for 2 minutes, until syrupy. Add red wine and chicken broth and simmer briskly until sauce coats spoon, about 5 minutes. Stir in ginger, cayenne and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Set aside. You should have about 1 cup sauce. (Sauce may be made a day or two in advance, if desired.)
• Place a wide cast-iron pan over medium high heat. When pan is hot, place duck breasts side by side, skin side down. Let sizzle gently for about 7 minutes, until skin is crisp and golden, turning down heat as necessary to keep from getting too dark. Turn breasts over and cook 5 to 7 minutes more. (Alternatively, finish cooking breasts in a 400-degree oven.) Check temperature frequently with an instant-read thermometer; internal temperature should be a bit less than 125 degrees. Remove breasts and let rest on a warm platter for 8 to 10 minutes.
• To finish sauce, put butter in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add cherries and granulated sugar and cook for a minute or two, stirring, until cherries are heated through and beginning to get juicy. Add kirsch and cook 1 minute more, then add previously prepared sauce and bring to a simmer.
• Thinly slice duck breasts at an angle and arrange slices on a platter. Spoon some of the sauce and cherries over meat and pass remaining sauce at table.

SEARED DUCK BREASTS WITH CHERRY AGRODOLCE

Steps:

• Score the fat on the skin side of the duck breasts with a paring knife in a crisscross pattern, being careful not to pierce the flesh. Season the duck with salt and pepper on both sides and place skin-side down in a cold large skillet. Place a saute pan or other heavy pan directly on top of the duck to keep it pressed down and cook over low heat for 5 minutes.
• Remove the saute pan and cook until the skin is fully rendered, brown and crispy, about 15 minutes. Increase the heat to medium, flip and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the duck breasts registers 135 degrees F, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Stir together the vinegar, dried cherries, honey, shallots and chiles in a small saucepan over high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until boiling, about 5 minutes. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until reduced by half, about 15 minutes.
• Drain all but 1 tablespoon of the rendered duck fat from the skillet. Reserve the drained rendered duck fat for another use. Add the frozen or fresh cherries and the rosemary to the skillet and cook over high heat until the cherries soften, about 2 minutes for frozen cherries and about 4 minutes for fresh cherries. Add a splash of vinegar and scrape up any browned bits with a wooden spoon to deglaze the skillet. Cook until the cherries soften, about 2 minutes for frozen cherries and about 4 minutes for fresh cherries.
• Slice each duck breast into 1/2-inch-thick slices on the bias. Spoon 3 tablespoons of the dried cherry agrodolce sauce in the center of a plate, top with a quarter of the duck and garnish with a quarter of the duck fat-sauteed cherries. Repeat with the remaining sauce, duck and cherries and serve.