Spiced Duck with Orange Sauce
Serves: Two adults | Cooks in: 25 minutes
Recipe adapted from thebbqmag.com
Ingredients
- 2 duck breasts
- Olive oil
- 1 shallot
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tbsp five-spice powder
- small knob of fresh ginger, minced
- 1 star anise
- pinch of pink peppercorns
- pinch of Szechuan pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 15ml white wine vinegar
- 10g granulated sugar
- 15ml Grand Marnier (orange liqueur)
- 50ml smooth orange juice
- 300ml gelatinous chicken stock (not cube)
- salt & pepper
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160°C.
- Score the skin of the duck breast and season well. Add the duck to a cold, dry, cast iron pan skin side down and cook on a medium heat stove until the skin is brown and crispy. This should take ~5 minutes.
- Keep the juices from the duck to make your sauce, and move the duck to the oven for approximately 8-13 mins, to your preference of rare to well-done. The desired temperature is 52°C.
- While the duck is cooking, finely chop the shallot and garlic and add to the pan with the duck juice. Add the minced ginger, Szechuan pepper and five spice. Cook until softened.
- Add a splash of vinegar to the pan to deglaze it.
- Add the star anise, pink peppercorns, bay leaf and sugar. Reduce the sauce until it resembles a syrup.
- Don’t forget about the duck, rest it if it’s ready.
- Add the Grand Marnier and orange juice to the sauce, reduce until thick. Add the stock and reduce the sauce by two thirds.
- Pass sauce through a fine sieve, discarding the shallots and spices.
- Slice the duck into portions. Serve with crushed new potatoes and the sauce.
- Try not to make too many happy eating noises as you pat yourself on the back for a job well done.