DUCK, SAUTÉED & BRAISED...WITH PEACHES!

Wow. I tasted this dish last Wednesday and it was very nice. A little salt and velvety brown sauce with tender duck breast and lovely sweet peach. Delicious. Now some people don't like duck. I'm interested in their reasons why, similar to my curiosity as to why some people order their steaks well done (again, why?). Duck has so much more flavor than chicken--I like meat that has more gamey flavor than chicken like say, venison or pheasant. So all that said, it should be fun to eat, er, make this dish tonight.

More about dinner on the jump...

DISH: Sautéed Duck Breast and Braised Duck Leg With Peaches, Suprême De Canard Sauté Et Cuisse Braisée Aux Pêches

RECIPE:

The Duck Breast
Two 2-KG Long Island Ducks, Breasts & Thighs Removed Separately, Bones Reserved
Corn Oil
Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper
100 G Onion, Cut In Mirepoix
100 G Carrot, Cut in Mirepoix
50 G Celery, Cut in Mirepoix
1 to 1½ L Brown Duck or Veal Stock
4 Garlic Cloves, Unpeeled & Lightly Crushed
Bouquet Garni

The Garnish and Sauce
4 to 5 Firm Large Peaches
2 Tablespoons Sugar
250 ML White Wine
2 Thin Strips Lemon Rind, Each About 2 inches Long
12 Peppercorns
12 Coriander Seeds
Peach Schnapps
Lemon Juice

Procedure:

DUCK BRAISE Preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove excess fat from the carcass and chop the carccass into medium-size pieces. Roast the pieces in the oven until nicely browned. Score the fat on the breasts in a quadrillage pattern and refrigerate. Heat the oil in a sauteuse. Season the legs with salt and pepper and brown well in the oil on all sides. Remove the legs from the pan and soften the mirepoix in the same fat. Degrease the pan well and deglaze with some of the stock. Add the browned mirepoix, garlic, bouquet, and browned carcass pieces, and add additional stock to cover the bones. Nestle in the legs fat side up, cover, and place in the oven for 60 minutes, or until the legs are very tender.

GARNISH & SAUCE Blanch the peaches for 15 seconds in boiling water. Cool them in ice water, peel them, and cut them in half. Remove the stones and place the halves sungly in a nonreactive saucepan. Ina sautoir just large enough to hold the peaches snugly, cook the sugar dry until a deep caramel forms. Deglaze with the white wine and add the peach halves along with the aromatics. Add water to just cover and poach the peaches for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender; the peaches should remain whole and firm. Let them cool in the liquid, and then remove and place them in another saucepan. Set aside. When the legs have finished cooking, remove them from the pan and keep them covered and warm. Strain the braising liquid, degrease very well, and reuce until a good falvor is achieved and approximately 300 ML remains.

Meanwhile, strain the peach-poaching liquid into a saucepan and reduce to 125 ML. Purée one of the peaches and add the purée to the sauce to taste. Add the reduced peach liquid to taste as well and then season. Dissolve some arrowroot in peach scnapps, and use this slurry to lightly bind the sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning and the sweet-and-sour ratio, balancing it with lemon juice if necessary. Strain again and keep warm.

DUCK BREASTS Season the duck breasts on the flesh side with salt and pepper, and season on the skin side with pepper and just a touch of salt. Place the breasts in a warm sautesue, skin side down, and cook slowly for approximately 15 minutes, degreasing the pan regularly, until the skin is crispy golden. Turn them over and cook briefly just to remove the rawness. Remove from the pan and blot dry with paper towels. Serve half of the breast sliced on the bias with a portion of the leg. Accompany each portion with a third of a poached peach sliced in a fan shape. Ladle a bit of sauce onto the peach and the plate and serve.

BREAKDOWN: