Known for its rich and beefy flavor, duck breast eats more like a steak than a bird! Score the skin and pan fry to a medium rare for an impressive and tender main course. (order by the pc. 1 full breast per pack)
--
*Recipe (and corresponding photo) courtesy of Elisabeth Stephan.
Duck Breast with Rosemary, Pear and a touch of Vanilla and Lemon
For perfect “duck-e-tude” (about as good as duckitude in ones life) this duck breast is first cooked at a constant temperature in a water bath (aka sous vide) and then seared to render more fat and crisp the skin. The delicate flavors of pear, vanilla and lemon form a delicious synergy with that of the more intense rosemary. If you “happened” to have poached pears, even better. Use the liquid for the sous vide process and the pear for serving!
Ingredients:
- 2 large duck breasts with skin
- sea salt or Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 4 sprigs of rosemary
- 4 lemon peel strips
- 1/4 vanilla pod, split down the middle and seeds saved for another purpose (or a few drops of vanilla extract)
- 1/4 cup of dry white or rose wine
- 1 pear, peeled and quartered
Cooking:
- Pat the well-chilled duck breasts dry with towel paper and remove any silver skin or fat on the meat side. Score the skin of the duck breasts in a criss cross pattern, taking care not to cut into the meat. Salt and pepper them on both sides.
- Set your water bath (or Sous Vide device) to 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, arrange the duck breasts, pears, rosemary, lemon peel and vanilla pod sections in a vacuum pouch or Zipp Lock. Add the 1/4 cup of rose (or poaching liquid) and cook at 130 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes.
- Remove the breasts from the pouches and place them in a cold pan. Turn the heat on and sear them on the skin side on low to medium heat to render the fat and crisp them skin. Then let them rest for a few minutes. Strain the liquid and use it and the pears for serving.
- Slice the breast and pear and serve them with a few spoonfuls of the delicate liquid.