
Spiced Duck Breast with Saffron Orange Sauce
Golden saffron orange sauce – the perfect accompaniment for duck…
Category:
Duck, Main
Style:
French
Quantity: 4 Serves
Ingredients
- 4 large duck breast fillets skin on, excess fat trimmed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- For the spice rub
- ¼ tsp fennel seeds
- ¼ tsp caraway seeds
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp Maldon sea salt
For the sauce
- 1 large orange
- 1 French shallot finely chopped
- ½ cup Grand Marnier
- 10 strands of saffron
- 3 tsp brown sugar
- ¼ tsp Maldon sea salt
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
-
Use a sharp knife to score the skin of each duck breast at 2cm intervals.
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Place the ingredients for the spice rub into a mortar and pestle and pound until you have a course powder.
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Massage the spice into the skin of the duck breasts.
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Preheat oven to 180°C. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over high heat. Add half the duck, skin-side down, and cook for 4 minutes or until browned. Turn and cook for a further 3 minutes. Transfer to a large baking tray. Repeat with the remaining duck.
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Bake in oven for 8 minutes for medium or until cooked to your liking.
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Cover with foil and set aside for 5 minutes to rest.
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Thinly slice across the grain and serve with warm Saffron Orange Sauce.
For the sauce
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Use a zester to remove the rind from 1 orange. (Alternatively, use a vegetable peeler to peel the rind from the orange. Use a small sharp knife to remove white pith from the rind. Cut the rind into very thin strips).
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Juice the orange, you will need ½ cup of orange juice.
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Place the orange juice, Grand Marnier, the French shallot, 5 strands of the saffron, the brown sugar and Maldon sea salt into a small pan and bring to a gentle boil. Cook for five (5) minutes, and set aside to cool. (If time permits, allow to stand for a few hours to get maximum colour from the saffron)
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Strain the liquid into a clean pan and discard the solids.
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Add the orange zest and remaining saffron strands to the liquid and heat to a gentle simmer.
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Whisk in the butter, a piece at a time.
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Keep the sauce warm until ready to serve.
Notes
- You may need an additional orange, depending on the size and juiciness of them.
- If you don’t have Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur, you can use dry white wine.
- You could serve crispy roast potatoes cooked in duck fat or mashed potatoes with finely chopped chives as a side, but I parboiled some thick chips and cooked them alongside the duck – they took on some of the spices as they cooked.