This seared duck breast with cherry sauce is a wonderfully easy and impressive dish to make, perfect for a special dinner. Duck breast is seared until crisp and then simmered in a delicious cherry sauce. Serve with mashed potatoes and greens for a complete meal.
Ingredients
- 4 duck breasts, skin on
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cups cherries, pitted
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
Method
- Preheat oven to 200C/400F.
- Season the duck breasts with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the duck breasts, skin side down. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the skin is crisp and golden brown. Remove from the skillet and place on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until the duck is cooked through. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes.
- To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the cherries, chicken stock, red wine, cornstarch and thyme. Cook for 5-7 minutes until the sauce is thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- To serve, slice the duck breasts and top with the cherry sauce.
Potential changes & improvements
If you don’t have fresh cherries, you can use frozen cherries or a can of cherry pie filling. You can also use other kinds of fruit in the sauce, such as raspberries, blueberries or blackberries. For a more savory sauce, you can omit the fruit altogether and just make a pan sauce with the onion, chicken stock and red wine.
What other food it works well with
This seared duck breast with cherry sauce is delicious served with mashed potatoes and greens. It would also be good with rice or roasted potatoes.
Common Mistakes
One common mistake when cooking duck is to overcook it. Duck breast should be cooked until it is pink in the center, otherwise it will be dry and tough. Another mistake is to not crisp the skin. Be sure to cook the duck skin side down in a hot skillet until it is crisp and golden brown.
Nutritional Information
This seared duck breast with cherry sauce is a relatively high-fat dish. Each duck breast has about 11 grams of fat, and the sauce is made with olive oil. If you are watching your fat intake, you can remove the skin from the duck breasts before cooking. You can also use a leaner cut of duck, such as duck breast tenderloin.
Allergens
This recipe contains the following allergens:
- Duck
- Chicken
- Red wine
- Cornstarch