My Recipe: Pan-Seared Duck Breast with Cassis Compote recipe

by: koenvanderveldt Pan-Seared Duck Breast with Cassis Compote

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Duck breast that is great with potatoes and vegetables

Created on : 04-10-2006

Six ounce boneless duck breasts (They may come as one butterflied breast. If so, slice down the middle to separate them.) The best ducks are Moscovy ducks, available from specialty butchers, but any duck will work.)
4 shallots, minced ingredient
1/4 cup crème de Cassis (This is a French liqueur made from black currants. Despite the name, it is a syrupy, crimson-colored liqueur.)
1/2 cup black currant jam (unsweetened if possible), or black cherry, boysenberry, or similar preserve
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, or red wine vinegar if you have no balsamic on hand.
teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepperre

Preheat oven to 350°F. 175 Cel
Place the duck skin-side up. Using a sharp knife, score four 1/4-inch-deep cuts across the skin at a 45-degree angle. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper over the meat side of each duck breast.
3 Heat a well-seasoned skillet or nonstick pan over high heat. When pan is hot, add duck breasts, skin side down, and cook for 5 minutes, or until skin is brown and crispy. Flip and cook for 2 more minutes. If you are unfamiliar with duck breasts, don’t be put off by their unusual look. The fat-to-meat proportions reverse themselves when cooked, as much of the fat is rendered and the meat expands.
Remove pan from heat (save the drippings) and transfer duck breasts, skin side up, to a cooking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake on the top rack of the oven for 6 minutes.
Carefully discard all but two tablespoons of duck drippings from the pan. Return pan to medium heat and add shallot. Stir occasionally for 3 minutes, or until shallot begins to turn golden. Add Cassis to the pan and stir with a wooden spoon to loosen up the browned bits left by the duck. Add jam, vinegar, and remaining teaspoon of black pepper, and stir occasionally for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
Remove duck from the oven and slice each breast at a 45 degree angle into 1/4-inch-thick strips (properly cooked duck should resemble medium-rare steak). Arrange in a fanlike pattern on a warmed plate and spoon Cassis compote overtop. Serve immediately.