Black Pepper Roasted Duck Breasts With Grilled Plums Recipes

DUCK BREASTS WITH ROASTED PLUMS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Arrange plums, cut side down, in a baking dish. Season with salt, pepper, and sugar, if desired; set aside. Score skin of duck breasts in a crosshatch pattern, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Season with salt and pepper.
• Place breasts skin-side down in a cold medium skillet. Place over medium-high heat until most of the fat has rendered and the skin is dark golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Pour off fat, and turn duck breasts, meat-side down.
• Place duck and plums in oven. Roast until meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the duck registers 125 degrees, about 10 minutes. Remove duck and plums from oven. Remove duck from skillet, and cover to keep warm. Let rest for 10 minutes.
• Slice each breast half into 12 thin slices. Place 6 slices on each plate. Garnish each plate with 2 plum halves. Drizzle with any accumulated juices from the bottom of the baking dish.

DUCK BREASTS WITH FRESH PLUM-GINGER GLAZE AND TOMATILLO RELISH

Steps:

• For the relish: Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• For the sauce: Preheat grill or side burner. Heat the oil in a large nonreactive saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until soft. Add the Thai chiles, ginger, curry powder and cinnamon and cook for 2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and cook until the sauce becomes thick, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Place plum mixture, in 2 or 3 batches, in a food processor and process until smooth. Remove marinade to a large bowl and let cool completely. Reserve 1 cup. Yield: 4 cups
• For the duck: Preheat grill medium-low heat. Season breast with salt and pepper on both sides to taste. Grill skin-side down for 5 minutes. Baste, using 3 cups of the plum sauce, turn, baste again, and grill for 5 minutes. Baste, turn and baste again; cover the grill and cook the duck skin-side down for 5 minutes. Baste, turn and baste again; cover and cook another 5 minutes or until well-browned on the outside but medium-rare doneness (total 20 minutes). Remove breasts to a platter and brush with the reserved plum sauce. Cover with foil and let sit 10 minutes. Grill the tortillas for 15 seconds on each side. Cut the duck on the bias into 1/4-inch thick slices. Brush some of the reserved sauce in the center of each tortilla, place 3 or 4 slices of the duck and a few green onions, wrap and serve. Serve with Tomatillo Salsa.

BLACK-PEPPER-ROASTED DUCK BREASTS WITH GRILLED PLUMS

Steps:

• Using sharp knife, score skin of duck breasts in crisscross pattern (cut skin only; do not cut through meat), spacing cuts 1 inch apart. Sprinkle duck breasts on both sides with 1 teaspoon thyme, 1 teaspoon pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cover and chill.
• Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Toss plum halves, olive oil, sugar, 1 teaspoon thyme, remaining 1 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Grill plum halves, cut side down, until grill marks appear and plums begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Turn plums over and grill, skin side down, until skin begins to soften but plums still retain their shape, about 4 minutes. Transfer plums to bowl. Cover with foil and let stand while cooking duck.
• Heat 2 large skillets over medium-high heat. Add 2 duck breasts, skin side down, to each skillet. Cook until skin is crisp and golden, about 7 minutes. Turn duck breasts over and cook to desired doneness, about 8 minutes longer for medium-rare. Remove from heat and let duck rest 5 minutes.
• Thinly slice duck crosswise. Divide among plates. Place 2 plum halves alongside each serving. Drizzle any plum juices from bowl over. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons thyme and serve.

GRILLED DUCK BREAST WITH PEPPER JELLY GLAZE

Steps:

• Wash and dry duck breasts. Mix together salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary. Sprinkle the mixture over the skin side of the breasts, and refrigerate for several hours or let stand about 1/2 hour before cooking.
• Make the glaze: combine the shallots, vinegar and stock in a small pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until liquid is reduced to about a cup. Whisk in the pepper jelly, and then the butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the jalapeno, if desired. Add more vinegar if sauce is too sweet.
• Grill or saute skin-side down for about 6 minutes; then turn and cook about 2 minutes longer, depending on how rare you want the breasts. Remove from heat; let stand about 2 minutes; then, slice on the diagonal into 5 or 6 pieces and arrange on plate, skin side up. Spoon glaze over the top.