Duck Breast with Blood Orange Sauce
As a young girl, one of my favorite things I loved to do besides sports was to read 📚. With a wild imagination and a desire to discover many unknown destinations, cultures, traditions and dishes, reading was a good way to fulfill all of these. It wasn’t hard for me to read for several hours every day.
One of my high school girlfriends and I were the same way. After finishing our books, we switched them, read them and then exchanged our opinions about them. The librarians 👵 at our private girl’s school knew Isabelle and I very well and even gave us some “privileges” that the other girls didn’t have. After our second year, girls started to follow in our footsteps and we formed a “Book Society”… cute! The librarians also lent us books to read that we would have never personally picked ourselves.
When I was reading and it was something I didn’t know, I went ahead and did some research 🧐. Isabelle wasn’t like me in this regard – actually I was the only one doing that – and she relied on me many times to explain things to her that she didn’t know.
One day, as I was reading a novel, the author mentioned a dish I never had before. Just the way it was described, I could not only almost smell 👃 and taste it but it was also something I really wanted to try. I went to my parents kitchen and showed it to them hoping they would make it… well, that never happened!
Years later, after I had just moved 🚛 to Toronto, I was asked out on a date and he took me to Le Select Bistro located on Queen Street back then – now it’s located on Wellington Street. When I started looking at the menu, I saw this particular dish and suddenly it dawned on me… that was the dish I had read about when I was a teenager and somehow had never tasted it. Without hesitation, I ordered it! It was Duck à l’Orange! Although I had previously seen it on menus many times, somehow, I never ordered it. I’m so glad I did that night because it was perfectly cooked, just the way I imagined it when reading that book.
After becoming a regular at Le Select Bistro, I eventually started making this dish at home 🏡. I was quite surprised that I nailed it on my first attempt. Was it because I ordered it so many times at one of my favorite restaurants? Maybe but for me just making a dish that I was so curious about for more than 15 years and successfully make it was a big achievement on its own.
A few years ago though, I decided to make a slight change to one of my old time favorites. Overnight it became my Duck Breast with Blood Orange Sauce! Oh my, it’s so amazing! Switching from regular 🍊 to blood oranges made a delicious impact on the recipe by giving the sauce a deeper, richer taste.
Another change I made to this new “improved” recipe was to spice things up a little by adding a spice that is too often ignored; harissa. Without overpowering the incredible flavor of the duck 🦆, this spice complements the dish perfectly. Now, this Duck Breast with Blood Orange Sauce is absolutely mouthwatering!
You can make 👩🍳👨🍳 this for a weeknight dinner but it’s definitely an elegant meal to have when you’re entertaining at home. I like to serve this with my scalloped potatoes and steamed vegetables. Surprisingly uncomplicated, this Duck Breast with Blood Orange Sauce will absolutely wow everyone including yourself!
Bon Appétit!🍽
Here are more amazing elegant recipes for you to try…😀
– Pork Tenderloin Vitali
– Sautéed Scallops with Beurre Blanc
– Braised Beef Short Ribs with Sherry & Shiitake
– Red Snapper en Papillote
– Veal Ossobuco
– Spanish Paella
– Fettuccine alle Vongole ~ Clam Fettuccine
– Lamb Chops with Balsamic & Red Wine Reduction
– North African Chicken Thighs with Dates & Pomegranate Molasses
and for even more great poultry recipes 🐓🦃🦆, click on this link… Recipe Category • Poultry
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Duck Breast with Blood Orange Sauce
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Ingredients
DUCK BREASTS
- 4 large duck breasts, skins scored in a crosshatch pattern
- 1 tsp. ground Himalayan pink salt, or to taste
- 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, or to taste (I always use mixed peppercorns)
BLOOD ORANGE SAUCE
- 2 large cloves garlic, pressed
- 1 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
- 1 cup freshly squeezed blood oranges (about 4 oranges) tips & tricks
- 1 tbsp. brown sugar such as demerara, or more to taste
- 1 tbsp. harissa
- 1 tsp. hot paprika
- 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 tsp. beurre manié tips & tricks
Directions
DUCK BREASTS
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Pat dry the breasts with paper towel and season with salt and pepper; let them sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- In a cold pan without oil or butter, place breasts, skin side down. Turn the heat on medium-low and cook for 10 minutes or until the skins are nicely browned.
- Flip over and transfer them immediately to the preheated oven. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 140ºF.
- Remove from the heat and place them, skin side up, onto a cutting board to rest while making the sauce. Transfer the duck fat into an airtight container for other recipes.
BLOOD ORANGE SAUCE
- Return the pan to the burner and set the heat to medium. Add garlic and ginger; sauté for 30 seconds scraping the bottom of the pan.
- Pour in blood orange juice and add brown sugar, harissa, hot paprika and chicken broth; stir. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
- Add beurre manié and stir until completely dissolved and the sauce thickens.
- Slice breasts and drizzle the sauce over. Serve with Scalloped Potatoes and veggies.
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