Roasted Honey Lavender Duck Breasts Recipes

Steps:

• Unwrap the ducks and allow them to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. With a fork, prick the skin without piercing the meat. This will allow the fat to drain off while the ducks cook.
• Meanwhile, in a very large stock pot which can hold the 2 ducks, heat the chicken broth with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt until it boils. Add the ducks very carefully and bring the stock back to a boil. If there isn't enough stock to cover the ducks, add the hottest tap water to cover. If the ducks float to the top, place a plate on top to keep them immersed. When the stock comes back to a boil, lower the heat and simmer the ducks in the stock for 45 minutes.
• When the ducks are finished simmering, skim off enough duck fat from the top of the stock to pour a film on the bottom of a 14 by 18 by 3-inch roasting pan. This will keep the ducks from sticking when they roast. Carefully take the ducks out of the stock, holding them over the pot to drain. Place them in the roasting pan, pat the skin dry with paper towels, and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt and the pepper. If you have time, allow the ducks to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow the skin to dry.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. (Be sure your oven is very clean or it will smoke!) Roast the ducks for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow them to rest, covered with aluminum foil, for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Finely grind 2 teaspoons fresh or 1 teaspoon dried lavender blossoms, thyme, sea salt and peppercorns in spice grinder or with mortar and pestle. Remove fat deposits and giblets from duck cavity, reserving liver. Trim excess skin and fat from neck area. Rinse inside and out; pat dry. Cutting through skin and fat (but not flesh) of duck breasts, score in crisscross pattern. Rub inside and outside of duck with herb mixture; return duck liver to cavity.
• Place duck, breast up, on rack in roasting pan. Roast 2 hours. Remove from oven. Increase oven temperature to 375°F. Transfer duck to plate. Pour pan juices into 4-cup glass measuring cup; spoon off fat. Return juices and 1 tablespoon fat to pan. Add broth and wine. Return duck to pan. Brush with 2 tablespoons honey.
• Roast duck 20 minutes, basting once with pan juices. Brush with 2 tablespoons honey; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried lavender. Roast duck until deep golden and thermometer inserted into innermost part of thigh registers 180°F, about 5 minutes longer.
• Transfer duck to platter. Remove liver; mash finely in small bowl. Spread liver over baguette slices. Add 1 teaspoon fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried lavender to roasting pan. Place over medium heat. Boil juices until thick enough to coat spoon, whisking often, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl. Slice duck and serve with baguette slices and pan juices.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season duck inside and out with salt and pepper. Put olives and lavender inside duck and truss or close with a skewer. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add duck and saute on all sides until skin is golden brown. Transfer to a rack in a roasting pan. Mix 2 tablespoons of the honey with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Brush over duck and roast until juices run clear when duck is pricked deep in thigh about 45 minutes. About halfway through the roasting time, combine 1 tablespoon of pan drippings with the remaining 2 tablespoons of honey, and brush over duck. When duck is cooked, remove it from oven and let rest to 15 minutes in a warm place before carving and serving.;

Steps:

• Make the glaze: in a small bowl, combine the honey, boiling water, and pepper; stir to blend and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 275°; season ducks with salt and pepper.
• With a kitchen fork, prick skin about ¼ inch deep all over, particularly in the fatty area around the thighs and wing area; do not pierce the meat.
• Place duck breast-side down on a rack in a roasting pan; pour boiling water over them; roast for 2 hours.
• Turn the duck breast-side up and brush with the glaze.
• Roast for another 1 to 1 ¼ hours, or until the legs wiggle easily; transfer to a carving board and let cool.
• Using heavy poultry shears, quarter the ducks-cut the backbones out to make this easier.
• Place the duck quarters in plastic bags and refrigerate.
• About 45 minutes before serving, preheat the oven to 375°; place the duck, skin-side up on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, or until the duck is cooked through and crisp.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce-in a small skillet, melt butter over med-highheat.
• Add in shallots; saute for 2 minutes or until softened.
• Add in demi-glace, honey, and vinegar; turn up heat to high, and reduce the sauce to a light glaze, about 3 minutes.
• Whisk the remaining 1 tablespoons butter into the sauce to thicken it and add a sheen; season with salt and pepper.
• Place the duck on a platter and spoon over a little sauce; serve the remaining sauce on the side.

Steps:

• Grind 2 teaspoons dried lavender blossoms, thyme, salt and peppercorns in spice grinder. Pat the duck breasts dry with paper towels. Smear the fat side all over the ovenproof pan you will use. Cutting through the fat (not meat) of the duck breasts, score in criss cross pattern. Rub both sides of breasts with herb mixture. Let stand on a cutting board for at least 15 minutes and up to an hour. Breasts need to be at room temperature. Lay the breasts skin side down in a COLD pan. Turn the heat to medium-high. Cook the breasts until the skin is crispy and most of the fat has been rendered, about 10-12 minutes. You will hear the sizzle change. Turn breasts over and remove from pan. Pour off the fat and juices from the pan into a fat separator and reserve 2 tablespoons of the fat and all of the juices. Can be completed ahead of time to this point. If making ahead, refrigerate the breasts until 1 hour before roasting. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Return duck to pan and brush with 2-4 tablespoons of honey. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of dried lavender. Roast in hot oven for 10 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 155 degrees. Time may vary depending on whether duck was refrigerated prior to roasting. Remove from oven and allow to rest on a cutting board for at least 3 minutes. Drain off all the fat possible from roasting pan and add the wine, stock and 2 tablespoons of reserved fat and all of the duck juice. Add 1 teaspoon of dried lavender to roasting pan. Place over medium heat. Reduce stock mixture until thick enough to coat spoon, whisking often, 5-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Slice duck and serve with sauce.

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive bowl and stir thoroughly.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F Season a whole chicken or chicken pieces (leave the skin on) with salt and pepper. Roast the chicken for 30 minutes (reduce time for a smaller bird such as a poussin or cornish hen).
• Baste with the lavender honey marinade every 5 minutes or so for an additional 30 minutes or until completely cooked. The bird is done when a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165°F Do not overcook.
• [Chef's Note: Once the bird has browned nicely, you can cover it with foil until it is finished cooking to prevent the skin and marinade from burning. Once finished, you can brush additional marinade between the flesh and the skin.].

Steps:

• Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Dry the duck with kitchen paper and liberally season all over with coarse salt. Put the thyme and bay leaves inside the cavity, then place the duck on a rack over a roasting tray.
• Cook for 10 mins or until the skin begins to turn golden, then reduce the heat to 180C/fan 160C/ gas 4. Cook for a further 45 mins, basting the bird with honey every 5 mins or so for the final 20 mins of cooking. Your bird will now be roasted to medium - cook 10 mins more, if you like your duck well done. Set aside to rest, uncovered, for 10 mins.
• Meanwhile, make the creamed cauliflower. In a pan, cook the caulifl ower and shallots in the butter over a low heat for 20 mins until softened and any liquid has evaporated. Spoon into a liquidiser with the cream and whizz to a purée. Season and keep warm.
• For the garlic crisps, thinly slice the garlic cloves using a really sharp knife or a mandolin. Place the slices in a pan along with the milk and slowly bring to the boil.
• Remove from the heat and strain the garlic slices, discarding the milk (or save it for mashed potato). Leave the garlic to drain on kitchen paper. Cover the bottom of a frying pan with the oil and heat. Fry the slices, a couple at a time, until golden and crisp, then remove with a slotted spoon.
• To serve, carve the duck and serve alongside the creamed caulifl ower and sprigs of watercress, sprinkled with the crisp garlic slices.

Steps:

• Score fat on duck breast in criss-cross pattern at one-inch intervals.
• Mix the five-spice powder, honey, soy sauce and lemon juice together in a dish, brush the mixture over both sides of the duck breasts and place the breasts in a dish. Cover and allow to marinate at least an hour at room temperature or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator, whichever is more convenient.
• Preheat oven to 175 degrees.
• Heat large, heavy skillet, preferably nonstick, to very hot. Remove duck breasts from marinade, reserving marinade for sauce, if desired. Place duck breasts in the skillet skin side down and sear for about two minutes, just until the skin is well browned. Remove the duck breasts from the skillet. Pour all the fat out of the skillet (reserve the fat for the sauce or other cooking, if you wish). Return the duck breasts to the skillet skin side up and cook for about a minute, just until the meat is seared.
• Transfer the duck breasts skin side up to a baking dish that will hold them in a single layer. Place in the oven for about an hour. By this time the duck breasts will be uniformly pink throughout. They can remain in the oven as long as two hours and can sit warming even longer if the oven is turned off after two hours. The recipe can also be expanded for as many duck breasts as you need.
• To serve, slice the duck breasts on an angle, into slices a quarter to a half-inch thick. Array on a platter and serve.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Using a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, finely grind half of the lavender (or herbes de provence), thyme, sea salt, and peppercorns.
• Set aside the ground herb rub mix.
• Remove excess fat and skin from duck neck and inside cavity.
• Remove giblets (reserve liver only).
• Thoroughly rinse duck and pat dry with paper towels.
• With very sharp paring knife, carefully score duck breast in criss-cross pattern, making sure to cut through skin and fat only (do not cut into the flesh or"meat" of the duck).
• Rub herb mix into both inside the cavity and the outside of the duck.
• Place liver back into the prepared duck cavity.
• Put duck onto rack inside a roasting pan, breast side up and roast for 2 hours (do not baste during initial roasting).
• Remove duck from oven and increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Put the duck on a platter and carefully pour pan juices into large glass measuring cup.
• Spoon off all but about 1 tablespoon of the clear duck fat into a glass dish and refrigerate to use in other dishes as a sauté medium, for example.
• Pour pan juices and the 1 tablespoon of the duck fat back to the roasting pan and add the chicken broth and wine.
• Put duck back on the rack in the roasting pan and brush with about half of the honey.
• Roast the duck for about 20 minutes, basting at least once with the pan juice/broth/wine mixture.
• Remove the duck from the oven and brush with the rest of the honey, then sprinkle the duck about 1 teaspoon of the lavender or herbes de provence and return to the oven to roast about 5 minutes more.
• Depending on the size of the duck, it may take a bit longer; it is ready to remove from the oven when a meat thermometer inserted into the innermost duck thigh registers 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
• When duck is done, remove from the oven and put it on a platter to rest.
• Remove the liver from the duck cavity and mash finely in a small bowl to be used on crackers or small toasted baguette slices.
• Pour pan juices from the roaster into a saucepan, making sure to scrape up browned bits.
• Add the remaining lavender or herbes de provence to the saucepan, along with salt and pepper to taste and place over medium heat.
• Bring the juices to a boil, whisking often, and cook until the sauce is thickened and coats the back of a spoon.
• Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
• Transfer the sauce to a bowl and serve with sliced duck at the table.