Duck In Red Wine Sauce
Whether you pan sear duck or cook it in the oven, it's always a stunning main dish. This duck in red wine sauce is cooked perfectly with crispy skin and medium meat. The duck fat renders beautifully and if you watch it as it cooks, you get to see the levels of raw, cook and just right and you'll know exactly when to turn it over. The perfectly cooked red wine sauce helped mellow the gamey taste of the duck breast. Let's cook duck breast!
Ingredients
For The Duck Breast
- 4 Duck breasts
- salt and pepper
Red Wine Sauce
- ½ cup red wine
- ½ cup fresh orange juice
- zest of 1 whole orange
- 2 tbsps honey
- 2 tbsps vino cotto
- ¼ teaspoon salt & pepper to taste
- ⅛ th teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ th teaspoon all spice
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ¼ cup vegetable stock
- 1 teaspoon maizena + 1 tablespoon water combined to make a slurry
Instructions
- Preheat: Preheat the oven to 200°C / 392°F
- Prepare Duck Breast: Pat the duck breasts dry with paper towels or a clean dish towel. Score the skin without cutting through the meat. Season both sides of the duck breasts with salt and black pepper.
- Cook Duck Breast (Dry Sear): Place the duck breasts skin side down into a cold dry skillet. The heat should be low because you're starting with a cold pan and no oil. As the duck warms up, increase the heat and wait for it to sizzle. After 5 minutes on a sizzle (skin side down) the skin will be crispy and a light golden brown. Turn the duck breasts over and cook the other side for 2 to 3 minutes for medium.
- Transfer the pan to the oven and let the duck breasts roast for 3 minutes. Use an instant read thermemeter to check the internal temperature, it should be 62°C /140°F for medium.
Rest The Duck
- Transfer the duck breasts to a plate and cover loosley with allumunian foil, giving them time to redistribute the juices - back into the duck. Rest for 15 minutes. Don't toss out the duck fat, pour it into a cup and keep it for the best roast potatoes!
- Make the sauce: Pour the sauce ingredients (except the vino cotto) into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, drop the heat to a decent simmer, for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the rosemary and bay leaves, discard. Add the vino cotto, stir it in. Combine the maizena and water to make a slurry and pour it into the sauce stirring gently for a couple of seconds, it will thicken immediately, remove from the heat.
- Serve: Slice the duck breasts into fairly thick slices and pour the sauce over. Serve with a side of mashed potatoes and peas or a side dish of your liking.
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