Pan-Seared Duck Breasts with Cranberry Chipotle Sauce

 

I figured I should cook once in awhile on this blog. (Thank you, Chris, for being such a trooper the past month or so!) So the other night, I rolled up my sleeves and got into it. Oh this was a goodie people. I've had this cookbook since 2006 and hadn't cooked from it yet (hence the new year's resolution). Not only did I find a keeper...but I have rediscovered this amazing cookbook!

The story behind this book: back in 2006 Chris and I and a crew of friends went on a super fun camping trip in Bar Harbor, Maine. We camped at an amazing campground right on the water and got to kayak in Somes Sound (the only fjord on the east coast of the US). We also got to do a little bit of shopping. Naturally I looked for, and found, a great cookbook to commemorate the trip. 

Note: this recipe is actually for Venison with Cranberry-Chipotle Pan Sauce but since Whole Foods did not have venison worth purchasing, an executive decision was made to go with the duck breasts. 

So we begin by boiling 1 cup of cranberries with 3/4 cup honey and a little bit of water (2 TBS). Just until the berries start to pop (about 5 minutes).

 

Crantastic!

 

Butter, garlic, chipotle pepper. FAB-U-LOUS. Important to cook the garlic to get it nice and roasty...it takes the harsh raw garlic flavor away. This gets added to the cranberry/honey glop and will be used later on.

 

So I got these duck breasts at Whole Foods (actually it's known as Harry's Farmer's Market here in Alpharetta but it's Whole Foods.) The thing about ducks is they have a lot of fat. So they can float. And keep warm in the water. Whatever the reason: it also makes them quite tasty! After all, fat is flavor, right? Right!

The trick in cooking them is to render the fat so that it melts and flavors the meat and gets nice and crispy on the outside. Scoring the skin/fat is crucial to help this happen. See above photo.

 

We start by pan searing the breasts, skin-side down in a butter/olive oil combo (1 TBS of each)

 

Then we slip a little treat to the dog. Fenway, my faithful sous chef is so well-behaved she always deserves a treat.

 

Flip them over. So the fat isn't as rendered as much as I'd like here (I did end up flipping them over again) but you have to be careful. Duck tastes best medium rare (this is pretty much the one salmonella-safe poultry) so be careful not to overcook.

 

Once the meat is cooked, set it aside and cover with a "tented" piece of foil. This allows the meat to rest. Why? When meat (of any kind) is fresh off the grill/out of the oven or  whatever pan it was in, the muscle fibers are all bunched up and tight. If you let it rest for a bit the fibers relax and loosen up. Bunched up fibers can't hold moisture. Relaxed fibers can. This is why if you cut into a steak too early it "bleeds." So...let your meat rest while you complete the next step.

 

Add the chipotle/garlic/cranberry goodness to the pan along with the butter and oil and all of the good-n-tasty browned bits. Then add some red wine and let it simmer for a few to get all mixed and melded together. It will reduce and thicken a little bit. Salt and peper to taste...I added a touch of garlic powder at this stage.

 

Serve the sauce poured over the duck. I made some wild rice and would have done some simple green beans but it was getting late and we just stuck with the protein and starch. :)

Definitely will make this one again.