Duck Breast Tasting of Christmas...
18 December 2007
I’ve just come home from a nice pre-Christmas break at my parents’. As they are both quite enthusiastic about cooking (and rather discuss who MAY cook than who MUST cook) their dinner plans for the few days of my stay were already tight. But even though I really enjoyed being served their delicious meals I wanted to cook for them at least once, so they granted me a cooking slot on Sunday evening.
The duck breast filet I prepared turned out really tasty, even though I unfortunately left it in the oven for a bit too long. The time indicated
in the recipe below should now deliver the right result, i.e. the duck breast remaining slightly pink inside.
I had cooked a similar orange and honey flavoured duck breast a few years ago for New Year’s Eve, but this time I added some more herbs and
spices, including dried rosemary, nutmeg, and a cinnamon stick for the right Christmas flair. What a great taste to the duck breast and
what a lovely scent spreading in the kitchen while it was sizzling in the oven…
Orange-Flavoured Duck Breast
| serves 4 as a main dish |
| 3 duck breast filets |
| 3 oranges |
| 2 lemons |
| 4 table spoons of honey |
| 1 1/2 tablespoons of whole black peppercorns |
| 2 teaspoons of dried rosemary leaves |
| 1 cinnamon stick |
| some nutmeg |
as side dishes: |
| 400g rice/wild rice |
| 8 carrots |
| 1 clove of garlic |
| some butter |
Pre-heat the oven at just below 200°C.
Press the oranges and the lemons and mix the juice with the honey, the dried rosemary leaves (preferably chopped into small pieces) and the whole peppercorns and season with some nutmeg. If you like it spicy, you can also crush the peppercorns before adding them.
Make parallel cuts into the fat layer of the duck breast filets with a distance of about 3cm between each two cuts. Just cut through the fat layer and be careful not to slice the meat (this just serves to keep the duck breasts from deforming when the fatty side contracts while frying). Now place the filets in a hot frying pan and sear them for about 2 minutes on each side. If you start with the fatty side there is no need to use any oil for frying as the fat will spread quickly in the pan.
When the duck breasts are nicely browned on both sides (but still raw in the middle) remove them from the pan. Turn down the heat to moderate temperature, briefly wipe the pan with some kitchen paper to get rid of the excess fat, then add the juice mixture and let it simmer for just a few minutes.
Season the duck breast filets with salt and place them in a casserole. Pour over about half of the juice and add the cinnamon stick. Cover the casserole with its lid and leave it in the oven for 25 minutes, sprinkling some more of the juice on top of the duck every 5 minutes or so. Finally uncover the duck, add the rest of the juice and turn on the ventilator in the oven for another 5 minutes so the crust gets nice and crunchy.
While the duck is in the oven prepare the side dishes; I suggest rice mixed with some wild rice and some carrots, the latter just sautéed in some butter with a squeezed clove of garlic.
To serve cut the duck breast filets into thin slices and cover them with some of the juice. If there is a lot of juice left, just serve it apart in an extra dish. The duck breast should ideally be slightly pink inside!
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