Tea Smoked Duck Breast With Pears And Blueberry Jus Recipes

Steps:

• Combine all the ingredients, except sesame/vegetable oil, for the marinade in a bath solution and place cleaned duck in it overnight.
• Hang dry and rest for at least 2 hours. Hang duck in smoking oven with hook on the upper neck.
• Place the camphor wood, brown sugar, tea twigs, if available, on a pan at the base of the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Some recipes call for tea leaves but tea leaves in the sugar/camphor mixture does not add that much tea flavor to the ducks. Roast the duck for approximately 40 minutes, but depends on size of duck, type of oven, etc. For best results for a crispy skin, the last 5 to 10 minutes should be at 400 degrees F, with a final basting of sesame/vegetable oil on the skin of the duck. Duck can be flashed in hot oil to finish, if timing for service is critical.
• Cut and serve hot, with buns and sauce, optional.

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.

Steps:

• Cut the duck breasts in half, lengthwise. Trim away any cartilage or membrane, and remove the fillet (a small strip of meat and tendon on the meat-side of the breast that comes off easily; some butchers may have already removed this when boning the duck). Sprinkle equal amounts of the Sichuan pepper-salt on all sides of the duck breasts, then rub with equal amounts of the orange zest. Pat equal amounts of the scallions and the ginger onto the duck breasts, then lay them in a nonaluminum dish, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature before proceeding.
• Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until nearly smoking. Sear the duck breasts on the skin side only until dark golden brown. Remove from the heat and reserve.
• Mix all of the smoking ingredients in a small bowl.
• To smoke the duck breasts, prepare a wok (or Dutch oven) by lining it and the lid with two layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil, leaving an overhang of about five inches. Spread the smoking ingredients in the bottom of the wok and place a round cooling or steaming rack about one inch above the smoking mixture, propping it up if necessary with balls of aluminum foil set under the four corners of the rack.
• Set the uncovered wok over high heat and cook until wisps of smoke come from the smoking mixture. Place the duck breasts, skin side down, on the rack. Cover the wok, and crimp the foil edges together, leaving a small escape valve for the smoke. Smoke the duck breasts for four minutes, turn off the heat and let them sit for an additional three minutes before removing the lid. If the duck is too rare for your taste, add a tablespoon of dry rice to the smoking mixture, return the breasts to the rack and smoke for an additional two or three minutes. Let the duck breasts cool, then slice them in thin diagonal slices and serve.