Roast Duck With Cherries Recipes

NEIL PERRY'S ROAST DUCK WITH CHERRIES

Steps:

• Put a duck on the chopping board and remove the fat deposits in the cavity. Cut the neck off, then remove wing tips by cutting at the first joint. Season inside and out with sea salt. Repeat with the second duck. If you have two stacking bamboo steamers, or one larger one, cook both ducks at once, otherwise, cook one at a time. Steam the ducks over boiling water for 45 minutes, not boiling the saucepan dry. If using two small steamers, halfway through, place the top one on the bottom to ensure even cooking of each duck. When the ducks are cool enough to handle, put one on a board and remove the legs. Cut the backbone out, turn over and cut the breast in half down the middle, leaving the bones attached to the breast. Repeat with the other duck. You now have four breast pieces and four legs. Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced). Rub the duck pieces with olive oil and sea salt. Put in a roasting tin skin-side down, cook for 15 minutes, then turn over. Pour out any excess liquid and cook for a further 15-20 minutes. The duck should be cooked and the skin crisp; remove from the oven when done. For the cherry sauce, place a pan over medium heat and add the oil and butter and cook until foaming; add the cherries, sugar and salt and cook for about 15 minutes until soft and fragrant. Remove from the heat and give a really good grind of pepper. Place the duck legs on a chopping board and separate the thigh from the drumstick. Place on the side of 4 large plates. Place the breast on the board and remove the meat from the frame, slice each breast into 4 slices, then place on each plate, fanning slightly. Spoon over the cherry sauce, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and add another grind of pepper. Serve with a crisp baby cos salad.

ROAST DUCK BREAST WITH DRIED CHERRIES AND PORT

Steps:

• Wrap each duck breast in plastic wrap and pound them with a meat mallet until each breast is about 1 inch thick. Place the duck on a plate, sprinkle both sides with a total of 4 teaspoons salt, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
• When ready to cook the duck, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Score the skin of the duck breasts with a sharp knife, making a crosshatch pattern but not cutting down to the meat.
• In a large (12-inch) heavy-bottomed, ovenproof skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Place the duck breasts in the pan, skin side down. Cook uncovered over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes, discarding the fat from the pan occasionally, until the skin is very browned. Turn the duck with tongs, place the skillet in the oven, and roast for 12 to 18 minutes, until the internal temperature of the duck is 120 degrees F for rare. Remove from the oven, cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil, and allow the duck to rest for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce. Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Add the shallots and saute for 2 minutes, until tender. Add the vinegar and cook for one minute. Add the Port, chicken stock, cherries, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the crème fraîche, orange zest, and orange juice and keep warm over low heat.
• Transfer the duck to a cutting board and slice diagonally, fanning the slices out on 4 dinner plates. Spoon the sauce generously on top, sprinkle with salt, and serve hot with extra sauce on the side.

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.

ROASTED DUCK WITH CHERRIES

Steps:

• Remove any fat from the cavity of the duck and pierce the skin of the legs and breast with the tip of a knife or the tines of fork (helps to render out the fat).
• Season the duck well with salt and pepper inside and out and let the duck sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before roasting.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Roast the duck on a rack in a roasting pan for 45 minutes, turning it from side to side every ten or so minutes and finishing with it breast side up.
• Pour off as much fat as possible (reserve it for other uses--like the best french fries there are).
• Add the cherries, the wine and the stock and roast for another 15 minutes--the duck should still be pink next to the bone.
• Allow the duck to rest 15 minutes before carving.
• To carve, remove the legs, slice the breast and reserve all the juices.
• Skim the juices again, taste for seasoning and serve the duck garnished with the cherries and the de-fatted pan juices.

CRISP-TENDER ROAST DUCK WITH CHERRY-ROSEMARY SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Rinse the duck inside and out and pat dry. Trim any excess fat from the neck and cavity, snip off wingtips and discard. Mix 1 tablespoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl, and sprinkle the bird inside and out. Using a paring knife, make dozens of slits through the skin and fat (taking care not to pierce the meat) all over both sides and all parts of the bird.
• Put the duck breast-side up on a rack in a roasting pan and roast for 1 hour. Take the bird out of the oven, transfer to a platter and carefully drain the fat from the pan into a measuring cup (you'll end up getting 2 to 3 cups). Return the duck to the pan, prick with the knife again, turn it breast-side down and roast another hour. Repeat each hour, roasting the duck for a total of 4 1/2 hours.
• While the duck cooks, make the sauce: In a small saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon duck fat over medium heat and cook the shallots until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the cherries, stock, preserves, honey and rosemary, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the lemon juice, swirl in the butter and taste for salt and pepper. Set aside until the duck is finished.
• After 4 1/2 hours of roasting, turn the oven temperature up to 350 degrees F, prick the duck skin one last time, salt the skin again and return bird to the oven, breast-side up. Roast for 30 minutes until the skin is nicely browned.
• Remove from the oven, tent with foil and let rest for 20 minutes. Gently reheat the sauce over low heat. Carve the duck, put the pieces on a serving platter and serve with sauce.

ROAST DUCK WITH CHERRIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a small bowl, stir together cloves, ground star anise, and ground cinnamon. Place potatoes, carrots, onion, turnip, and sweet potato in a roasting pan large enough to hold the duck; sprinkle half the spice mixture over the pan and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil and mix to coat.
• Rinse duck in cold water and pat dry. Rub duck all over with remaining spice mixture and 3 tablespoons olive oil; season generously, inside and out, with salt and pepper. Place duck, breast side up, on top of vegetables in roasting pan. Add neck and organs, along with thyme, bay leaves, and 2 cinnamon sticks. Cover pan tightly with parchment paper-lined aluminum foil; transfer to oven and cook for 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine cherries, red wine, sugar, remaining cinnamon stick, and whole star anise. Place over low heat and cook until cherries are soft and wine has reduced to a syrupy consistency, about 30 minutes. Reserve about 3 tablespoons of syrup for glazing the duck. Transfer remaining syrup to a small serving bowl; set aside and keep warm.
• Carefully uncover duck and baste with pan juices. Add garlic cloves to pan and re-cover with parchment paper-lined foil. Return duck to oven and continue cooking until meat starts pulling away from the bone, about 2 hours more.
• Uncover duck and brush with reserved cherry-wine syrup. Return to oven and roast until skin is crispy and dark, rich brown in color, about 15 minutes.
• Carefully transfer duck to a large serving platter. Let stand, uncovered, while preparing the vegetables. Transfer vegetables to a large bowl. Remove meat from the neck and add to vegetables, discarding bones. Thinly slice remaining organs and add to the vegetables; mash vegetables and meat together and season with salt and pepper.
• Transfer vegetable mixture to a serving bowl and serve immediately along with duck and cherry-wine syrup.