Roasted Duck Breast with Cherry-brandy Sauce and Frissee Salad
The tip to this dish is rendering the fat from the duck breasts slowly. If you do it right, you’ll have to pour out some fat halfway through searing the duck. Save the fat for frying up some frittes!
4 8- to 10-ounce duck breasts, skin on
Salt & pepper to taste
2 cups dried sweet cherries
2 cups Copper & Kings American Craft Brandy
½ cup water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
Duck:
1. Season duck breasts with salt and pepper. Heat cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Sear duck breasts skin side down until crispy and most of the fat is rendered from breasts.
2. Pour off fat, turn breasts over and cook to desired temperature. Allow to rest before slicing.
Sauce:
1. Bring brandy and water to boil and add cherries to rehydrate. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Once liquid is reduced by half, mount sauce with butter by adding cubes slowly.
Frissee salad:
1 small head frissee, trimmed, washed thoroughly and dried
Vinaigrette:
¼ cup champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
Add ingredients to squeeze bottle and shake well until emulsified. Set aside.
Plate: To serve, slice duck and place on platter. Spoon warm sauce over top of duck, and garnish with frissee dressed lightly with vinaigrette.
Photos by Jesse Hendrix-Inman. The dishes were prepared at Sullivan University by Ann Currie.