Recipes › Cherry (Sour) › Sour Cherry Duck Breast
Sour Cherry Duck Breast
Pan-seared duck breast with a sour cherry sauce is a classic combination for good reason — the rich, fatty duck and the bracingly tart cherries cut each other perfectly. This restaurant-quality dish comes together in under 35 minutes and makes an extraordinary dinner party main course.
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Ingredients
- 1½ cups fresh sour cherries, pitted
- 4 duck breasts, skin scored in a crosshatch pattern without cutting the flesh
- 1 tsp salt and black pepper, to taste
- 2 medium shallots, minced
- ½ cup red wine
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 1 tbsp honey
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Contains: sulphites.
Method
- Score duck skin deeply in a crosshatch pattern. Season well with salt and pepper on both sides.About 3 min
- Place duck breasts skin-side down in a cold skillet. Turn heat to medium and render the fat for 12 minutes until skin is deep golden and crispy. Pour off excess fat as it renders. Flip and cook 4 more minutes for medium (internal temperature 130°F for medium-rare). Rest 5 minutes.About 18 min
- Pour off all but 1 tbsp fat. Cook shallots for 2 minutes. Add red wine, scraping up any browned bits, and reduce by half.About 5 min
- Add sour cherries, stock, honey, thyme, and balsamic vinegar. Simmer for 7 minutes until cherries are soft and sauce is glossy. Remove thyme. Season with salt and pepper.About 8 min
- Slice duck breasts against the grain. Fan slices on warmed plates and spoon sour cherry sauce over generously.About 3 min
Tips
- Starting in a cold pan renders the duck fat slowly and evenly, giving the crispiest possible skin.
- Duck is best served medium to medium-rare — cook to 130°F internal temperature for the juiciest result.
- Scoring the skin allows fat to render out and prevents curling.
Ring the changes
- Use sour cherry jam (2 tbsp) instead of fresh cherries for a year-round version.
- Add ¼ tsp Chinese five-spice to the duck seasoning for an Asian-inspired variation.
Keeping it
Refrigerate duck and sauce separately for up to 2 days. Reheat sauce gently; reheat duck in a hot oven to re-crisp skin.
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