Pan Seared Duck Served With Parsnip Puree Recipes

Steps:

• With a sharp knife, score the fat of the duck breast in a crisscross pattern, being careful to not cut into the meat. Season the duck with salt and pepper. Warm a cast-iron or heavy-bottomed pan over medium-low heat and add enough oil to just coat the bottom of the pan.
• Place the duck breast fat-side down in the skillet to render off the fat, about 8 minutes. Once the fat has rendered out and the skin is golden brown and crisp, turn the duck breast over and add the butter, thyme and garlic. Turn up the heat to medium-high and, once the butter is foamy, begin basting the duck breast using a spoon. Continue basting until the duck breast reaches medium rare and measures 135 to 140 degrees F. on an instant-read thermometer, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the pan and let rest for 3 to 4 minutes before slicing.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 to 400 degrees F.
• First don't use frozen duck breast. Go to your local butcher if they don't have it, usually they have no problem ordering it special for you. :).
• Score each breast shallowly in a crisscross fashion. Do NOT slice to the meat. These cuts allows the fat to render into the pan and the skin to get crispy.
• I like to use my cast iron skillet, you could also use stainless steel. I do NOT recommend using a non stick skillet. It needs to be oven proof.
• Sprinkle each breast on both sides with salt and pepper. You can be generous with the salt on the skin side. It really helps dry out the skin so you get a super crispy skin.
• Heat skillet over medium high heat. Place duck breasts skin side down and cook for about 5 minutes or until the skin is golden brown. Remember watch it carefully you want to crisp the skin, but not overcook the meat. You might have to lower the temperature a bit. Patience is the main ingredient for a perfect duck breast. I reserve the fat that renders off and use with roasted potatoes or anything really. It's so tasty. Remove the drippings from the pan before placing in the oven.
• Place your skillet with your duck breasts into the preheated oven. Cook for about 12 minutes or until Medium Rare. Remember watch your duck carefully because cooking time varies on how thick your breast is and how much has already cooked through on stove top. It will also carry over cook once you remove from oven. If you have a thermometer it should read about 125 to 130.
• Do NOT turn your breasts. It still should be skin side down.
• Remove to warm plate skin side up and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes and then slice about 1/2 inch thick and on the diagonal and serve with onion marmalade. ( Recipe Below).
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• Balsamic Onion Marmalade.
• In a large heavy pan, combine the red onions and brown sugar and cook over Medium to Medium high heat, stirring often, until the onions begin to caramelize about 20 minutes.
• Stir in the wine and vinegar, increase the heat to Medium high stirring often, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.

Steps:

• Start preparing your sweet potato croquettes. They will have to chill in the fridge before deep frying so they are stiffer. Grate skin off sweet potatoes. Once cleaned, grate sweet potato into thin slices into a large mixing bowl.
• Finely chop 1 onion and place in bowl with sweet potato. Add your feta, eggs and breadcrumbs.
• Mix this all together well and place in fridge to chill.
• Heat up your grape seed oil in a small saucepan. Once hot, add the other chopped onion and sliced garlic cloves. Cook until onion is a clear colour.
• Add butter, 50ml of your cream and 3 chopped parsnips. Cook until parsnips are soft enough to puree (around 10-12 minutes). You will need to stir regularly during this process so you don't burn the puree.
• While that is cooking, wash excess blood off your duck breasts and sprinkle course sea salt over the skin side of the breasts.
• Start to heat up your oil until it starts to lightly smoke from the heat. Place the duck skin side down in the pan and cook for around 8 minutes until the skin is darkened and crispy.
• By now your puree should almost be ready, so take it off the heat and put it through a sieve so that all the solids are separate. Place all solids into a blender or food processor and add remaining cream. Blend until a very smooth paste forms.
• When you have your paste, put it in a bowl and slowly add the remaining butter mixture you used while cooking until you get a medium thick puree consistency. Place one side until serving.
• Turn your duck breast over and cook on the meat side for another 3 minutes until a medium rare stage.
• While the duck is cooking, heat up for frying oil in a deep fryer or deep pan. Quickly roll your croquette mixture into balls or small sausage shapes. Once all the mixture is rolled, place then in the oil (in basket or straight in if you don't have one) and cook until golden.
• By now your duck should be ready. Take off the heat and place on a chopping board to rest for approximately 10 minutes.
• Take your croquettes out the pool and place them on kitchen paper to drain excess oil. Quickly peel a parsnip into fine strips and fry those to make chips. When they are ready they will be a golden colour (3 minutes).
• Heat up your puree slightly. Once warm, place a tablespoon in the middle of the plate and smear into large circle. Slice your duck into thin slices, and place around 4-5 cuts onto the middle of the puree. Top that with parsnip chips and watercress. On the side, add 2 croquettes. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• On 4 warm dinner plates pipe the horseradish parsnip puree through a piping bag slightly off center on each plate. Spoon or ladle the huckleberry brandy sauce around the parsnip puree. Place a quarter of the hot duck confit around 1/2 of the parsnip puree towards the center of the plate. Place the sliced duck breast on top of the confit in a fanned circular fashion. Place 1 piece of foie gras on top of each breast and garnish with a sprig of parsley and fried parsnip strips.
• Duck Breasts:
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• French each breast by scrapping the meat, skin and tissue off of the wing bone while keeping it attached to the breast. With the heel of a chef's knife make a clean break on the bone without creating any fragments. (You can also purchase boneless duck breasts if you desire.)
• Score the skin on each breast by lightly cutting through the skin but not into the meat. Make a criss cross pattern to allow for easy rendering. Preheat a large saute pan and add the canola oil. Season the duck with salt and pepper on all sides. Place the breasts into the skillet, skin side down. Turn the heat down to low and allow the breasts to render for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the skin is very crispy.
• Turn the breasts over and place in the oven and cook for 2 to 4 minutes or until desired doneness. Remove the duck and allow it to rest for 1 to 2 minutes. Slice the breast into 4 to 6 equal pieces and serve immediately. The duck should be served medium rare.
• Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F.
• Place a heavy gauge skillet on the stove over medium heat. Add 1 ounce of canola oil to the pan and add the duck legs, skin side down. Turn up the heat to make sure that the legs are rendering but not burning. Render the legs for 15 to 20 minutes or until the skin is completely crispy. Remove the legs from the pan, saving the duck fat, and place the duck legs into a deep oven proof dish. Place the onions, garlic, celery and thyme over the duck legs. Poor the rendered duck fat over the legs and add as much canola oil as you need to completely cover the duck. Cover the dish with tin foil and place in the oven for 3 to 4 hours. Remove the dish and allow it to cool. Remove the duck legs from the fat and remove the skin. With a fork or small knife begin to shred and remove all the meat from the legs. The meat should be very tender and shredded into thin even pieces. This can be done days in advance and reheated when needed.
• Heat a saute pan over very high heat and allow it to get extremely hot. Place the foie gras into the pan with no oil and saute for 30 to 40 seconds on each side or until crisp and golden brown. Serve immediately.
• In a large sauce pot add the potatoes and the parsnips and season with salt. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Allow it to simmer until the potatoes are tender. Drain the potatoes and parsnips and place into a blender or food processor. Add the heavy cream to form a mashed consistency. Add the horseradish and puree until very smooth and season with salt, to taste. Do not over mix. Place the mixture into a pastry (piping) bag and reserve hot for the assembly.
• In a small saucepan add all ingredients together and bring to a boil. Reduce by 2/3 and season with lemon juice and salt.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• With a sharp knife score the fat of the duck breasts in a criss-cross pattern. Season the duck with salt and pepper. Warm a heavy bottomed ovenproof skillet over medium heat.
• Place the duck breasts, fat side down, in the skillet to render off the fat, about 6 minutes. Reserve rendered duck fat. Turn the duck breasts over and sear for 1 minute. Turn the fat side down again and place the skillet into the oven to roast for 7 to 9 minutes, until breasts are medium rare. Let the duck breasts rest for 5 minutes then thinly slice.
• Grate the potatoes and squeeze out excess liquid using your hands. Toss the potatoes with the melted butter, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of duck fat in a 6-inch cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Press some of the potato mixture into the hot pan to make a 1/4-inch thick cake. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the rosti is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Flip the rosti in the pan and add more duck fat. Continue cooking until golden and crisp. Place the finished rosti onto an unlined baking sheet and continue cooking the rest of the potato mixture. Reheat rosti in a 400 degree F oven for 10 minutes.
• Combine the brown sugar, raspberry vinegar, red wine vinegar, and white wine vinegar in a medium pot. Place over medium-low heat and stir to dissolve the brown sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add the blueberries, onion, green peppercorns, lemon juice, and ginger. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.
• The chutney will keep for several weeks stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl mix together the salt, ground black pepper, thyme, and rosemary; set aside. This will be your spice blend for seasoning the roasted potatoes and the duck breasts.
• Place cubed potatoes into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of your spice blend over the top of the potatoes. Toss the potatoes in the pan until they are evenly coated with oil and seasonings. Spread into a single layer across the bottom of the baking dish and bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven.
• While the potatoes are roasting, stir together the blueberries, water, apple juice, sugar, and jalapeno in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low, and simmer until the mixture has reduced to the consistency of syrup, about 10 minutes.
• Cook the pancetta in a large skillet over medium heat until crispy. Remove the pancetta to drain on a paper towel, leaving the drippings in the skillet. Add the shallots and the mushrooms to the hot skillet; stir and cook them until soft and just beginning to brown. Remove the shallots and mushrooms and set aside. Increase heat to medium-high and place the bok choy in the hot skillet. Stir and cook the bok choy until the leaves are wilted and the white stalk pieces are tender, about 5 minutes. Return the shallots, mushrooms, and pancetta to the skillet, turn off the heat and set aside.
• Rinse the duck breast halves and pat dry. Rub the remaining spice blend onto both sides of the duck breasts. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat, when the pan is hot put in the vegetable oil and butter. Immediately place the duck breasts in the pan, skin and fat side down. Do not move the duck breasts until the skin is deep brown, about 5 minutes. Turn the breasts and cook until the internal temperature of the thickest part is 160 degrees F (71 degrees C) for well done. Remove the duck from the pan and place on a plate, covered with foil to rest for 5 minutes. While the duck is resting, place the skillet with the bok choy mixture onto a burner over medium heat to warm through.
• Slice each duck breast diagonally into 1/2 inch strips. Divide the bok choy mixture among four plates and drizzle each serving with 1/2 tablespoon of aged balsamic vinegar. Arrange the sliced duck breasts on top of the bok choy mixture; ladle on blueberry sauce. Serve with oven-roasted potatoes on the side.