Duck Breast Over Greens Recipes

Steps:

• Remove the breast and the legs from the duck (you can ask your butcher to do this for you). Remove the skin from the legs and reserve with the neck, heart, and gizzard.
• Heat an 8-inch saute pan over high heat. Add enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Add the duck legs and sear until well browned on all sides, but not cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. Lower the heat to medium-low, pour off any excess fat and add the white wine. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover with a tight lid and cook slowly over low heat for 1 1/2 hours or until the meat falls off the bones. Remove the legs from the liquid and remove all the meat from the bones and set aside. Pour the braising liquid into a shallow container and remove the fat - if you refrigerate the braising liquid overnight the fat will solidify and be easy to remove. There should be at least 1 cup of braising liquid left after the removal of the fat, if not, add chicken stock to make up 1 cup. Add the braised meat back to the braising liquid and cook over low heat, just until the meat is heated through. Set aside and keep warm.
• Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the duck breasts, skin side down, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook without turning for 20 minutes, lowering the heat if the skin gets too dark and removing excess fat from the pan as it renders from the duck. During the last few minutes of cooking, season the flesh side with salt. Turn the breasts over and cook for 3 minutes. The duck breast should be medium rare to medium to be perfect.
• Remove the duck breast from the pan and let rest on a plate, reserving any juices that accumulate. Slice each breast into 4 to 6 slices. Remove the stewed duck meat from the braising liquid. Add the Pear Sauce to the braising liquid and strain through a fine strainer. Add any juices from the duck breast, the pear brandy and the butter and whisk well.
• Place a scoop of Barley Risotto slightly off center. Place some of the braised meat in front and the Wilted Greens on either side of the risotto. Place slices of the duck atop the braised meat. Drizzle the meat with the sauce. Sprinkle with toasted hazelnuts and place the dried pear slices into the risotto.
• Using a juicer, juice 2 pears to get 1/2 cup of juice. The pears can also be grated into a bowl lined with a clean kitchen towel. Once the pulp is in the towel, close the towel and squeeze all the juice out into the bowl.
• Thinly slice the remaining 4 pears lengthwise. Place in a food dehydrator and dry until crisp according to manufacturer's recommendations. Save the best looking dry pear slices to garnish the plate.
• Using a spice grinder grind the dried pears to a powder. Add 1/2 cup of the pear powder to the 1/2 cup of juice and let sit. The juice will thicken quickly and be about the consistency of peanut butter.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Halve the butternut squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and discard. Lightly oil a sheet pan, place the squash flesh side down, and roast until soft, about 45 minutes. Set aside to cool, then scoop out of the skin and puree until smooth using a food mill or food processor. Refrigerate.
• Soak the barley in the water, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Pour the barley and the soaking water into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer until softened, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the butternut squash puree and season with salt and black pepper and keep warm until needed. Add butter right before serving.
• Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add enough canola oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Add the greens and cook, tossing often, just until greens are wilted and stalks are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Set aside and keep hot.

Steps:

• Pat dry the duck breasts with a paper towel.
• Score the duck skin with sharp knife, making sure to not cut into the flesh.
• Season the duck breasts on both sides with salt and pepper.
• Add the potatoes to a pot of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until fork-tender. Drain the potatoes in a colander.
• Using the bottom of a ramekin or your palm, gently smash the potatoes.
• Preheat the oven to 400˚F (200˚C).
• Starting with a cold and dry oven-safe skillet, place the duck breasts skin side down. Cook for 12-15 minutes over medium heat.
• Flip the breasts over and sear the other side for 1 minute. Flip to the skin side down, and transfer the skillet to the oven.
• Roast for 4 minutes for medium-rare, or 6 minutes for medium.
• Rest the duck skin-side up for 10 minutes. Do not discard the fat in the pan.
• In a small pot, combine the red wine, chicken stock, orange juice, and honey and reduce by half over medium heat.
• Fry the potatoes with remaining duck fat in the pan, until golden brown, 5-6 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and rosemary.
• Slice the duck ½-inch (1 cm) pieces.
• Serve with the sauce and the potatoes.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• To make the spoonbread, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 2-quart souffle dish and set aside. Place the water in a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the salt and bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, add the cornmeal in a slow, steady stream. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Scrape into a mixing bowl, stir in the butter and set aside to cool to lukewarm. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, baking powder, baking soda and pepper. Gradually stir the egg mixture into the cornmeal mixture. Scrape into the prepared pan and bake until set, about 40 minutes.
• To make the duck, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the duck and sear on both sides. Set aside. Add the onion and carrots to the skillet and cook for 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of wine and deglaze the pan.
• Add the remaining wine and the broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a slow simmer. Add the duck and cook until medium rare, about 10 minutes. Remove the duck, slice on the diagonal and set aside. Increase the heat and simmer until liquid has reduced to 1 1/2 cups. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Season with salt and pepper. Place in a medium skillet and add the duck. Set aside.
• While the sauce is reducing, make the collard greens: cook the bacon in a large pot over medium heat until the fat is rendered. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon. Add the greens and cook, stirring until wilted. Add the water, cover the pot, turn heat to low and cook until the greens are tender, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
• Heat the duck and the sauce just until warmed through. Arrange the duck slices on each of 4 plates, spoon some of the sauce over them and sprinkle with parsley. Divide the collard greens and the spoonbread among the plates. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Toss the mesclun with the cubed Asian pear and salad dressing; season with salt and pepper and divide it among 4 dinner plates.
• Make sure to remove fat and skin from each duck breast half. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
• Heat a non-stick skillet until hot. Add olive oil and duck breasts, skin side down. Saute for to 4 minutes on one side and 2 minutes on the other for very rare duck (or longer if you don't like it rare).
• Remove duck to a cutting board. Add spices to skillet with tomatoes and stock. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes or until reduced. Remove from heat.
• Cut the duck in thin diagonal slices and fan them over the salad in the center. Spoon the sauce over the duck and serve, garnished with olives.

Steps:

• Split and trim the duck breasts to yield 4 individual breasts. Some people remove the "tenders," as there is a small span of unchewable silver skin within, but I just leave them intact and deal with it when eating, like the fat or gristle in any steak or chop. It's just part of the deal.
• Season the duck with salt and pepper generously on both skin and flesh sides, then place breasts skin-side down in an extra-large heavy-bottomed steel pan.
• Set the pan over medium-low heat, and gently cook the duck breasts 20 to 25 minutes, skin-side down the whole time, pouring off the rendering duck fat many times along the way so that the duck does not poach or steam in its own fat. Save all of that duck fat.
• In the meantime, split the endive heads in half lengthwise, and remove any limp outer leaves. Crush the green peppercorns with the flat side of your chef's knife, then mince the crushed peppercorns further, sometimes dragging the mince under the flat side of your knife to make it into a paste, as you might with a clove of garlic.
• When the duck skin is dark golden brown and crisp and most of the white fat has rendered out, turn the breast flesh-side down. Increase heat to medium-high (you want to get a true sear and not a gray "steam"), and sear for 2 to 4 minutes, or until the flesh is golden brown. Remove the duck breasts from the pan, and set them aside in a warm place.
• Add a nice spoonful of the rendered duck fat back into the hot pan, and lay in the endive halves, cut-side down. Cook until you get a dark golden sear on the cut sides of the endive, about 3 minutes. Turn the endives over onto their rounded backs, and add the cauliflower, shallot and peppercorn paste to the pan.
• Add back in another nice spoonful of the rendered duck fat, and stir together as best as you can without disturbing the endive. You can move it to the side and give yourself some room for stirring and cooking the cauliflower. You want to make sure the cauliflower and the shallots have contact with the fond (the fat, salt and pepper that have been left behind from the cooking of the duck breasts) in the pan.
• Add the chicken stock and the sherry or vermouth, and partly cover the pan to simmer the vegetables until soft and cooked, about 4 minutes. The liquid will be absorbed, the high note of the alcohol will burn off and a loose sauce will remain when finished cooking.
• Season the vegetables with salt and pepper as needed, and drizzle some more of the rendered duck fat over the whole deal if that moves you, as it does me.
• Slice the duck breasts across at a slight bias, approximately the thickness of your pinkie, and serve each with endive and cauliflower. Sprinkle a few drops of sherry vinegar over each serving to finish.