Erynn's Travel and Food Blog: Duck With Cherries

Two Peking duck breasts (or plain duck breasts)

1 large red onion

Half a cup of red or white wine

Cherries - either 1 can of cherries or 1 cup of pitted fresh cherries.

3 Tablespoons of tamarillo chutney (see Erynn’s Tamarillo Chutney recipe) or another fruit chutney.

Juice and zest of 1 orange

Salt and ground pepper

Please note that in these photos I used four breasts which can feed 6 people Although at the time there were only four of us and we ate the lot because we are gluttons.

Serving duck seems to impress a lot of people. I often wonder why this is and I have come to the conclusion that in most New Zealand homes it is only something that is eaten at a restaurant. If you have never had a go at cooking duck at home now is the time to give it a try. In saying this I generally only cook duck breasts, as I find them to be more succulent.

For this recipe, I like to buy duck breasts that have already been coated in a Peking marinade, if you can only find plain breasts it is not difficult to google some spices to rub into the skin.

Caramelising the onions.

I like to use red onions as I find them to be less acidic than brown onions.

Slice the onions and pop into a warm pan with a small amount of rice bran oil, salt, and pepper. Slowly cook the onions on a very low heat. I use a simmer mat to create a low and even heat. If you can get the temperature really low you can leave the onions cooking for up to 45 minutes with the odd stir. Please note that I am cooking on a gas hob. I am not sure how this would work on an electric hob. A handy hint is to hold the gas knob in to turn on the heat, continue to hold it in, and slowly bring it back around to high, and then just before it gets to off the heat drops to a lower than low heat.

When the onions begin to soften and change colour add about a tablespoon of red wine vinegar and continue to simmer until they are sweet. You can cook the onions for less time and they will still be okay, but the longer you cook them the sweeter they get, try not to let them brown too much. Put the onions aside and clean the pan.

One of the most important things to remember is that duck skin is very fatty, and needs rendering to get tasty crispy skin. Heat a heavy-based frypan and take it down to a low temperature. Use a simmer mat to get slow and even heat. Pop the breasts in the pan skin side down. If you are feeling a trifle worried about it sticking you could rub some oil around the pan with a paper towel. But you definitely don’t need any more than that as soon you will be draining off delicious duck fat to be used to roast vegetables.

As the fat melts away from the breast drain it off. This will ensure you end up with crispy skin. Continue to cook the duck in this way until the skin is crispy and the layer of fat under the skin has reduced to almost nothing. Remember, my photos are showing duck that was coated in a Peking marinade so it appears to be very red.

Turn the duck and cook for a few minutes, maybe four maximum, making sure that all edges have a bit of colour. Then take it off the heat to rest in a covered dish. Don’t feel nervous about the whole ‘poultry needs to be cooked thing. Duck breasts are best when they have a pink tinge when sliced.

Whilst the duck is resting drain the remaining fat from the pan and add the wine. Turn the heat up and cook off the wine whilst deglazing the pan, using a wooden spoon to lift any sticky remnants off the bottom of the pan.

Once the wine has reduced and no longer has that alcohol smell you can add the caramelised onions to the pan.

Add the cherries, orange juice, orange zest, and tamarillo chutney. Other chutneys will be okay if you don’t have tamarillo, I have used plum chutney before.