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Spiced Duck Breast with Saffron Orange Sauce
Golden saffron orange sauce – the perfect accompaniment for duck…
Category: Duck, Main
Style: French
Quantity: 4 Serves
Author: Julie Malyon @ SBA's Kitchen
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
  1. Use a sharp knife to score the skin of each duck breast at 2cm intervals.
  2. Place the ingredients for the spice rub into a mortar and pestle and pound until you have a course powder.
  3. Massage the spice into the skin of the duck breasts.
  4. 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.
  5. Bake in oven for 8 minutes for medium or until cooked to your liking.
  6. Cover with foil and set aside for 5 minutes to rest.
  7. Thinly slice across the grain and serve with warm Saffron Orange Sauce.
For the sauce
  1. 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).
  2. Juice the orange, you will need ½ cup of orange juice.
  3. 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)
  4. Strain the liquid into a clean pan and discard the solids.
  5. Add the orange zest and remaining saffron strands to the liquid and heat to a gentle simmer.
  6. Whisk in the butter, a piece at a time.
  7. 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.