Perfect Pan Fried Duck with Sherry and Raisin Sauce
Duck is one of those meats that for some reason seems to scare people when it comes to cooking but fear no more! This foolproof recipe will give you perfectly cooked duck every single time.
Yesterday I was feeling super fancy so I actually just made this for a midweek dinner - it's that easy!! - but in the real world this is the ideal dinner party dish. It's extremely seasonal ingredients paired with Spanish flavours, which makes a change from the Chinese flavoured duck that we're all used to. This dish is to die for: the sherry infused raisins are little bursts of heaven and crispy duck skin is one of God's gifts to Earth - amen!
Pan Fried Duck with Sherry and Raisin Sauce
Serves 4
50g raisins
300ml sherry
4 x 175-200g duck breasts
25g caster sugar
2 tsp sherry vinegar
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon corn flour
Olive oil, for frying
4 parsnips, peeled and very thinly sliced
1 small red onion, finely diced
200g button mushrooms
handful of fresh thyme, finely chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Soak the raisins in the sherry and remove the duck breasts from their packaging and wrap individually in kitchen paper. Leave them somewhere cool to dry while you prepare the rest of the dish.
Put the sugar into a small pan with 1 tablespoon cold water and leave over a low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved. Increase the heat and boil vigorously until the syrup turns a deep amber-coloured caramel. Remove the pan from the heat and add the vinegars (take care as it will bubble quite energetically). Return the pan to the heat, add the soaked raisins and the sherry and leave to simmer gently for 20 minutes. Mix the corn flour with 2 tablespoons of water, stir into the sauce and simmer for 1 minute. Season to taste and keep warm over a low heat.
Lightly score the skin of each duck breast, taking care not to cut down into the flesh. Season the meat with salt and pepper and the skin with just salt. Place the duck breasts, skin-side down, in a cold frying pan and then place over a high heat. Cook them without moving them for 5 minutes until the skin is crisp and golden brown. Turn the breasts over and cook them for 5 more minutes, if you like your duck pink, or slightly longer if you'd like it a little more cooked. Remove the breasts from the pan onto a board and leave them to rest for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, using the same pan that you cooked the duck in, fry the sliced parsnips for a few minutes until coloured and al dente. Heat a little olive oil in a small frying pan and add the shallot. As they start to turn colour add the mushrooms and thyme, fry for no more than 1 minute. Season to taste.
Place the parsnips on warm serving plates. Slice each duck breast diagonally into around 5 slices and transfer onto the plate along with the mushrooms. Spoon the sauce over the dish and serve.
Yesterday I was feeling super fancy so I actually just made this for a midweek dinner - it's that easy!! - but in the real world this is the ideal dinner party dish. It's extremely seasonal ingredients paired with Spanish flavours, which makes a change from the Chinese flavoured duck that we're all used to. This dish is to die for: the sherry infused raisins are little bursts of heaven and crispy duck skin is one of God's gifts to Earth - amen!
Pan Fried Duck with Sherry and Raisin Sauce
Serves 450g raisins
300ml sherry
4 x 175-200g duck breasts
25g caster sugar
2 tsp sherry vinegar
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon corn flour
Olive oil, for frying
4 parsnips, peeled and very thinly sliced
1 small red onion, finely diced
200g button mushrooms
handful of fresh thyme, finely chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Soak the raisins in the sherry and remove the duck breasts from their packaging and wrap individually in kitchen paper. Leave them somewhere cool to dry while you prepare the rest of the dish.
Put the sugar into a small pan with 1 tablespoon cold water and leave over a low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved. Increase the heat and boil vigorously until the syrup turns a deep amber-coloured caramel. Remove the pan from the heat and add the vinegars (take care as it will bubble quite energetically). Return the pan to the heat, add the soaked raisins and the sherry and leave to simmer gently for 20 minutes. Mix the corn flour with 2 tablespoons of water, stir into the sauce and simmer for 1 minute. Season to taste and keep warm over a low heat.
Lightly score the skin of each duck breast, taking care not to cut down into the flesh. Season the meat with salt and pepper and the skin with just salt. Place the duck breasts, skin-side down, in a cold frying pan and then place over a high heat. Cook them without moving them for 5 minutes until the skin is crisp and golden brown. Turn the breasts over and cook them for 5 more minutes, if you like your duck pink, or slightly longer if you'd like it a little more cooked. Remove the breasts from the pan onto a board and leave them to rest for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, using the same pan that you cooked the duck in, fry the sliced parsnips for a few minutes until coloured and al dente. Heat a little olive oil in a small frying pan and add the shallot. As they start to turn colour add the mushrooms and thyme, fry for no more than 1 minute. Season to taste.
Place the parsnips on warm serving plates. Slice each duck breast diagonally into around 5 slices and transfer onto the plate along with the mushrooms. Spoon the sauce over the dish and serve.
Comments
Post a Comment