Seared Duck Breast with Pomegranate Juice Reduction

Recently I've been reading a lot about pomegranites, when I stumbled across this recipe on tastespotting I decided that I had to make it. I thought it would be difficult to find Pomegranite juice, but to my surprise it's suddenly appeared at the supermarkets, the same brand as in the recipe and everything. With my fate sealed I quickly acquired all the needed ingredients.

Joyfully the only duck I could get was whole duck, so I cut it up and set the legs and wings into a cure to prepare them for confit *drools*. I brined the breasts for about an hour before cooking as well.

I was very pleased with the results, I should have reduced the sauce down more but I was getting really hungry so I didn't, I've since reduced it down more and will freeze it for another attempt. I also made sweet potato fries to go with the normal fries but I managed to burn them so they went in the bin.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hfe90lHotco/STJnqMtjCPI/AAAAAAAAFY0/9qQryIMG19o/s400/PB300030.JPG

Seared Duck Breast with Pomegranate Juice Reduction

Sauce:

• 1 cup POM Wonderful 100% pomegranate juice


• 1 cup chicken stock (I make my own, use low sodium if canned)


• 1 tbsp champagne vinegar (or any white wine vinegar)


• 1 tbsp brown sugar


• 8-10 black peppercorns, whole


• 1 packed tsp zest of lemon


• 1 medium shallot, sliced


• 1 tsp olive oil


• salt to taste


• 1 tsp flour with leftover duck fat (to make a roux)

Seared duck breasts

• 2 duck breasts, skin and fat scored


• 1 tsp olive oil


• salt to taste


• handful of pomegranate arils for garnish

Matchstick potatoes

• 1 potato, sliced into matchstick-thick spears


• Duck fat from sautéed breasts


• Peanut oil to top off


• salt to taste

Starting with the sauce as it takes quite some time to reduce it down to the right thickness, I first sauted the shallot over a medium heat and then added the lemon zest, peppercorns. After a minute or so I added the rest of the sauce ingredients ( except for the flour ) and brought it up to a slow simmer. we want it to reduce slowly ( don't boil! ) to about 1/2 cup. This will take at least 40 minutes.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hfe90lHotco/STJnOK4zo3I/AAAAAAAAFWw/3LA1BkrBBXE/s400/PB300013.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hfe90lHotco/STJnWCWkV7I/AAAAAAAAFXU/pIVC4nG7NSY/s400/PB300018.JPG

Then onto the fries, I julienned the potato into matchstick sized fries into a bowl of cold water to keep them from going brown.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_hfe90lHotco/STJnXiREvfI/AAAAAAAAFXc/xjnJkE-90-A/s400/PB300019.JPG

Now prepare the duck breasts, slice into the skin through the fat but don't cut into the meat. I did this every 3 or 4 cm's across the breast. This will allow the fat to render out nicely and give us some tasty duck fat to fry our fries in.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hfe90lHotco/STJncraapKI/AAAAAAAAFX0/Tm2i2Npo7sA/s400/PB300022.JPG

Bring a pan to medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil ( it shouldn't be hot enough for the oil to smoke/burn ), Add the duck straight away skin side down. Cook the duck until a lot of the fat has rendered out and the skin is nice and golden. Remove the duck onto a plate, we'll finish cooking it later.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hfe90lHotco/STJneZZaH8I/AAAAAAAAFX8/GpqwvlHMYKA/s400/PB300023.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hfe90lHotco/STJng1ZY82I/AAAAAAAAFYM/3oiwlDqP6yQ/s400/PB300025.JPG

Pour the fat into another pan and top it up with peanut oil. Dry your potatoes with a paper towel and fry them in the oil until golden. Remove them from the oil and salt them generously.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hfe90lHotco/STJnkJ9Lg7I/AAAAAAAAFYc/e0NxcwyTwvs/s400/PB300027.JPG

Bring your original pan back up to a medium heat and put your duck breasts in skin side up. When it starts to sizzle put the whole pan into the oven ( pre-heated to 200 C ) for 10 minutes.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_hfe90lHotco/STJnmGnbbEI/AAAAAAAAFYk/Nz_sHKWbIeI/s400/PB300028.JPG

When the 10 minutes is up wrap the duck in foil and put aside to rest.

Stir the flour through the remaining duck fat in the pan until it makes a nice roux. Strain the sauce into this pan and whisk generously until it thickens up into a beautiful sauce.

Slice the duck at an angle and lay on top of your fries skin side up. Spoon over some of the sauce and garnish with some pomegranite seeds.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_hfe90lHotco/STJntE84c6I/AAAAAAAAFZE/yHHGxz36iJ4/s400/PB300032.JPG

sorry stinky, im not with you on this one;

everytime ive ever had duck, it tasted like s*** chicken

duck is for fail

yeah im with spook on this one but on a slightly different note: undercooked chicken.

thats what it looks like from the photos.

Should have posted this recipe in the food poisoning thread :)

duck rocks, clearly you have not had good duck. will try this one for sure!

duck doesn't suffer from the same disease riddled fate as chicken and can be safely eaten rare.

duck is crazy delicious. how can you not like a good peking duck?

duck doesn't suffer from the same disease riddled fate as chicken and can be safely eaten rare.

i love fiction and food. they sure do go well together.

(Avian influenza)

if your duck tasted anything like chicken, it probably was chicken and not duck.

duck is awesome.

good work stinky.

'Wabbit Season!'...

i love fiction and food. they sure do go well together.

(Avian influenza)

i love ignorance and internets. they sure do go well together.

the colour pink does not represent raw. As long as the poultry (duck, or even chicken )reaches a suitable internal temperature 75 C it's safe to eat, regardless of the colour. It's totally possible to have pink chicken when safely cooked, but modern convention frowns upon pink chicken as it's considered unhealthy.

and what does Avian influenza have anything to do with this? It never made it's way to Australian shores.

that is just what they tell us because the government is controlled by the powerful poultry industry!

ara that's a fowel accusation

he'd be too chicken to make such allegations in real life.

stinky most parasites form cysts that can take an internal temp of 75*C easy as. I'm no poulty-related parasitic expert but if my biol teacher is anything to go by (doctorate), eating anything below medium rare will generally you get you some parasites/worms which can be potentially bad for you.

Although I'd still prefer medium rare to well done any day, tastes so much better.

Speakin of, it's a good lookin recipe, might try this one out some time.

last edited by Phooks at 23:07:56 30/Nov/08

Recently I've been reading a lot about pomegranites

Can't get it up hay Stinky? :P