Spice Crusted Duck Breast With Orange Honey Glaze And Cumin Scented Carrots Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
• Pat duck breasts dry. Lightly prick duck skin surface several times with a fork to help fat cook out. In a small bowl, combine salt with the other seasonings and season the duck. Insert a pop-up thermometer at an angle, in the thickest part of the breast. Place duck in preheated oven and turn down heat to 375 degrees F. Roast for about 25 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together glaze ingredients. About 10 to 15 minutes before duck is done, pour glaze over duck and finish cooking.
• Let duck rest, tented with foil for 5 to 10 minutes before carving.

Steps:

• Rinse duck and pat dry. Remove neck and giblets and save for another purpose. Remove excess fat from cavity and tail area and trim off a bit of flappy neck skin. Prick duck skin all over with tip of sharp paring knife, making sure not to penetrate meat.
• Mix together salt and 5-spice powder. Season interior of duck with 1 tablespoon salt mixture; use remainder to generously season exterior (you may have a little left over). Combine orange zest with grated ginger and garlic, then smear mixture inside cavity. Place orange wedges in cavity. Tie legs together. Secure neck flap with wooden skewer or toothpicks. Place duck on rack in roasting pan breast-side-up and refrigerate overnight, uncovered.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, bring duck to room temperature and make the glaze: Bring orange juice, honey, sugar and soy sauce to a simmer. Add sliced ginger and star anise, then reduce mixture until you have a medium-thick syrup, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Roast duck for 2 hours, carefully pouring off fat and turning duck over every 30 minutes. Paint with glaze and roast another 30 minutes (2 1/2 hours in all). Tent with foil if glaze begins to get too dark. Duck is done when temperature at thickest part of leg reads 165 degrees. Paint duck once more, keep warm and let rest 20 minutes. Use poultry shears to cut into quarters (remove backbone first) or carve in the traditional way, removing legs from carcass and slicing breast. Serve with mashed butternut squash if desired.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F. Pierce skin of duck breasts all over with fork. Sprinkle duck with salt and pepper. Heat heavy large skillet over high heat. Add duck breasts, skin side down, to skillet. Cook until skin is well browned, about 4 minutes. Turn duck breasts over; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Set rack in roasting pan. Transfer duck breasts to rack (reserve drippings in skillet). Roast duck to desired doneness, about 20 minutes for medium-rare.
• Meanwhile, heat drippings in skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Tilt skillet; push shallots to higher end of skillet, allowing drippings to flow to lower end. Spoon off drippings and discard. Add broth, orange juice and tea leaves to skillet. Boil until mixture is reduced to 1 1/4 cups, about 17 minutes. Pour mixture through strainer set over bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids in strainer. Return liquid to same skillet. Add honey; bring to simmer. Whisk in butter. Season sauce with salt and pepper.
• Thinly slice duck breasts crosswise. Fan slices on each of 4 plates, dividing equally. Spoon sauce around duck. Garnish with orange segments, if desired.