Duck Breast and Apples with Apple Cider Sauce
In the spirit of the autumn season, I created this recipe to honor my husband on his birthday. The apples, honey, spices, and cider add a slightly sweet apple pie taste to balance the gamey flavor of the duck. The cider and broth are cooked down to a somewhat syrupy sauce enhanced by blending in room temperature butter and drizzled onto the overlapping duck and apple slices. I served it with Käsespätzle found in my book (Sharing the Table) however, braised red cabbage or Brussels sprouts would make a lovely accompaniment.
4 servings
INGREDIENTS:
4 whole duck breasts
½ teaspoon dried juniper berries
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground mace
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, peeled and minced (about 2 tablespoons)
1 cup apple cider
1 cup chicken broth or stock
1 tablespoon honey
1 cinnamon stick
2 apples like Gravenstein, Fuji, or Jonagold, cored, cut into 12 slices each
1 tablespoon brown sugar or Swerve brown
2 tablespoons room temperature butter
DIRECTIONS:
1. Wash the duck breasts and pat dry with paper towels. Trim any excess fat. Gently score the fat side, making crosshatch marks with a knife, going almost but not into the flesh.
2. Lightly toast the juniper seeds in a small sauté pan over moderate heat until the juniper skins turn shiny and give off a fragrant smell. Cool and grind in a spice grinder. Mix this with black pepper, cinnamon, mace, and salt. Sprinkle this mixture on both sides of each patted-dry duck breast and refrigerate overnight or for a minimum of 4 hours.
3. Heat a non-reactive sauté pan and add the olive oil. When the oil slightly ripples, add the shallots and sauté until they are slightly brown. Deglaze with apple cider and chicken stock. Add the honey and cinnamon stick. Simmer until the liquid in the sauté pan reduces by half. This sauce may be reserved cold for several hours at this point
4. Heat a non-reactive sauté pan over high heat. Pat dry the duck breasts removing any excess spices, and place fat side down in the hot pan. Cook for four minutes over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and cook for another ten to twelve minutes, continuously basting the duck with the fat in the pan. Turn the breast over and cook for one more minute. Remove and keep warm while finishing the sauce. (The duck breasts must rest for at least five minutes before slicing).
5. Drain off all but two tablespoons of fat from the pan. Add and brown the apple slices on one side, turn over and sprinkle with brown sugar or swerve. Remove apples from the pan when cooked through. Add the reserved sauce to the pan and heat thoroughly. Reduce the sauce until it coats the back of a spoon. Whip in the room temperature butter.
6. Slice the duck breast into six slices. Alternate the duck slices and apples on the plates. Drizzle with the sauce and serve hot.
Duck Breast and Apples with Apple Cider Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 whole duck breasts
- ½ teaspoon dried juniper berries
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground mace
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large shallot, peeled and minced (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1 cup chicken broth or stock
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 apples like Gravenstein, Fuji, or Jonagold, cored, cut into 12 slices each
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar or Swerve brown
- 2 tablespoons room temperature butter
Instructions
- Wash the duck breasts and pat dry with paper towels. Trim any excess fat. Gently score the fat side, making crosshatch marks with a knife, going almost but not into the flesh.
- Lightly toast the juniper seeds in a small sauté pan over moderate heat until the juniper skins turn shiny and give off a fragrant smell. Cool and grind in a spice grinder. Mix this with black pepper, cinnamon, mace, and salt. Sprinkle this mixture on both sides of each patted-dry duck breast and refrigerate overnight or for a minimum of 4 hours.
- Heat a non-reactive sauté pan and add the olive oil. When the oil slightly ripples, add the shallots and sauté until they are slightly brown. Deglaze with apple cider and chicken stock. Add the honey and cinnamon stick. Simmer until the liquid in the sauté pan reduces by half. This sauce may be reserved cold for several hours at this point
- Heat a non-reactive sauté pan over high heat. Pat dry the duck breasts removing any excess spices, and place fat side down in the hot pan. Cook for four minutes over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and cook for another ten to twelve minutes, continuously basting the duck with the fat in the pan. Turn the breast over and cook for one more minute. Remove and keep warm while finishing the sauce. (The duck breasts must rest for at least five minutes before slicing).
- Drain off all but two tablespoons of fat from the pan. Add and brown the apple slices on one side, turn over and sprinkle with brown sugar or swerve. Remove apples from the pan when cooked through. Add the reserved sauce to the pan and heat thoroughly. Reduce the sauce until it coats the back of a spoon. Whip in the room temperature butter.
- Slice the duck breast into six slices. Alternate the duck slices and apples on the plates. Drizzle with the sauce and serve hot.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
682.35Fat (grams)
35.61Sat. Fat (grams)
11.19Carbs (grams)
29.47Fiber (grams)
3.08Net carbs
26.40Sugar (grams)
23.55Protein (grams)
59.92Sodium (milligrams)
798.72Cholesterol (grams)
342.90