Trick or Duck

Halloween for us was spent answering the door, handing out candy, and eating the week's Dorie meal: Twenty-Minute Honey-Glazed Duck Breasts.  Every one should be so lucky!

From Around my  French Table, page 229, we learn how to prepare this wonderful dish. I, along with some of my other fellow duck-virgin Doristas, had never prepared duck breasts.  As an adolescent I talked my mother into buying a duck to accompany the ham for Christmas dinner.  I prepared an orange sauce and roasted the little guy in the oven. I really liked it. I'm a dark-meat fan anyway. A whole bird of dark meat- yay!  Just never did it again.  I order duck breast and duck confit dishes often when I see them on a restaurant menu.

This amazing dish has only 3 ingredients besides the duck: balsamic vinegar, honey and lime juice.  Even if you don't like balsamic vinegar, you might like this glaze. It's a delicious accompaniment to the duck.




Score the very thick layer of fat



Sear the breasts, fat side down



Wow, I should have taken a photo of the fat in the pan after searing.  If you sear them too long they're overcooked and tough.  I tried not to do that.  As usual, Dorie's instructions are impeccably written. 

I served our duck with Endives, Apples and Grapes, from page 338.



Finished meal- Bravo!

And so it goes.  We really enjoyed this meal. Very tasty. I am no longer a duck-breast virgin!  Perhaps I should have considered a cherry recipe to go along side...