A couple of weeks ago, as we drove to the Farmers' Market in Dejvice, I asked my daughter what she wanted for dinner. Duck, she said (ain't that the best daughter in the world?). For some reason I've now forgotten, roasting a whole bird was out of the question that day. Fortunately, one of the stands was selling duck breasts that day and I bought three. While I sipped a beer at the market, after finishing with the shopping, I though about how I would cook them.
This is what I came up with. You'll need:
- Duck breasts (obviously), deboned
- 250-300ml of good Pale Lager (any pale would work, I think, even an IPA!)
- 2-3 (depending on thickness) Tbsp red currant jam, or whateverberry jam
- 1 medium sized carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 medium sized onion, coarsely chopped
- Sage, savoury, marjoram
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- salt, pepper
Put a deep pan to heat until it reaches a temperature of are-you-mad-you-want-to-burn-down-the-house degrees, and put the already seasoned breasts skin-side down. Let them fry until the skin turns brown and turn them over. You won't need to add any oil, the lovely, lovely lard under the duck's skin will take care of things just fine. Fry the breasts for two minutes or so and take them out. Lower the heat a bit and add the veggies, then the herbs. Stir everything until the onion starts getting some colour. Add the beer, let it simmer down and add the jam one spoon at a time, always mixing so the bugger won't stick to the bottom of the pan. Stir well, let it bubble away for a couple of minutes and put the breasts back in the pan, this time with the skin side up. Cover and poach gently for 40-45 min. If you feel the sauce is still too thin at the end, you can thicken it letting it reduce for a couple of minutes at full blast—be sure to keep the breasts warm while doing that. That's it. Lovely, I promise.
Na Zdraví! a Dobrou Chuť!
PS: Sorry for the lack of pictures. I made a couple, but they turned out crap. Too hungry to bother with things like illumination and focus.
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