Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Sauteed Breast of Duck with Blackberry Gastrique

Ingredients

1 Duck Breast, skin on
1 tsp Shallot, ciseler
3 oz Fresh Whole Blackberries
1 oz. Whole Butter
3 oz. Granulated Sugar
3 oz. Red Wine Vinegar
4 oz. Veal Demiglace
As needed Kosher Salt
As needed Black Pepper

Prepare the gastrique by lightly caramelizing the sugar in a sauce pan. Add the vinegar and simmer until the crystallized sugar softens and is incorporated into the syrup. Reserve the gastrique base. Reserve a couple of the blackberries for garnish and puree the rest. Score the skin of the duck breast - take care to not cut into the flesh. Season the duck breast with salt and pepper and carefully place the duck skin side down in a cold pan then turn heat on medium to render and crisp the fatty skin. Baste the duck occasionally with its own fat, cooking slowly enough to cook the breast to the desired doneness. I recommend medium rare. (Duck, unlike chicken, CAN be served medium rare). Remove the duck from the pan and reserve warm. Add the shallot to the pan and saute for 30 seconds. Add the demiglace, the blackberry puree and a small amount of the gastrique base. Simmer to a light nape consistency and strain. Add the whole beries to the sauce and adjust the flavor of the sauce with the salt, pepper and additional gastrique. Slice the breast, sauce the duck, and serve immediately.

2 comments:

  1. Leslie, Great job. I have had a web site for over a year, let me assure you your "comments" are no indication of what people think. I get stopped in public a lot with positive feedback, but am shocked because the feedback is relatively little.
    What a great inspiration. I will let you know what I cook- not too much these days, I pretty busy. Check out my site http://www.charlottesheart.com/ it's got a flavor of it's own.
    Congrats!

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  2. Wow. That duck looks great. Sometimes I wish I had went to culinary school, but I chose to work with animals which is a good fit for me too. My dogs are my passion second only to my family, then cooking is my next love. I hope to hear more from you cooking adventures.

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