Pan-seared duck breast a l'Orange - date night meal on a weeknight Cooking

http://ift.tt/2eYgxkE

Want a meal elegant and delicious enough for company or a date night - on a weeknight? Think past steak and look to duck, the other red meat.

This is one of my favourites to prepare. It's simple, presents wonderfully, and is exotic enough for most American palates to give a "wow" factor. This simple dish is all about the ingredients and technique. And prep to table in easily under 45 minutes.

Ingredients

• Duck breast (I find D'Artagnan Moulard Magret halves at my local market, but feel free to us Muscovy or Pekin too)

• 1/3c Grand Marnier (serves two)

• Salt

• Pepper

Prep

Bring the protein to room temp, about an hour before cooking. Light score the fat in a diamond pattern, cutting about 1/3-3/4 of the way through the fat. Don't cut all the way to the meat. Generously salt and pepper both sides just prior to cooking.

Place the duck, fat side down, in a cold pan, We want the fat to render before crisping. Place on medium-low heat until the fat renders nicely and fat is crisped, about 10-13 minutes. Flip once to the meat side, cook for another 5-7 minutes. Poke it periodically to gauge firmness. We're going for medium rare - anything more and duck can be tough. Remove to resting plate for about five minutes. Let rendered fat cool and reserve to a covered container in the refrigerator. Use this deliciousness in practically anywhere you'd use butter - searing steak, roasting potatoes, etc. Probably not so good for pastries, cakes, or pies though.

While the duck is cooking, bring Grand Marnier to rolling boil and reduce by half until it thickens, remove from heat. Note it will continue to thicken when resting - gauge appropriately. If it gets too thick, add more liqueur, bring to a boil again, and remove from heat.

Slice duck on the bias as show and serve immediately, fat-side up, with reduced Grand Marnier over the top.

This dish was served with wild rice and chard sautéed in butter until soft and seasoned with salt.

A note on ducks - Pekins are relatively mild and tender; Muscovy are much stronger, almost gamier; Moulards are a cross-breed of the two and my favourite.

Submitted November 01, 2016 at 11:25PM by grailer http://ift.tt/2fBCn16 Cooking