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

Steps:

• Place the baby carrots in a large skilled with butter, honey and about ⅓ cup water. Heat over medium high heat and season the carrots with cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper and cook stirring occasionally, until lightly caramelized and tender, about 20 minutes. While the carrots are cooking, stir together the star anise, cumin, coriander and white pepper in small bowl. Season the duck breasts on both sides with salt, then crust the skin side of the duck breasts with the spice mixture. Divide the canola oil into 2 sauté pans and heat over medium heat. When the pans are hot, gently place two duck breasts, skin side down in each pan. Lower the heat to medium low and cook until skin is golden brown and crispy, about 12-15 minutes. Turn the duck breasts over and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes for medium rare. Transfer the duck breasts to the cutting board to rest. Return the pan to the stove. Over medium heat, divide the shallots between the pans and cook until soft. Add the honey, orange juice and lemon juice and reduce by half. Finish the pan sauce by whisking in the butter, seasoning to taste with salt then combine the sauce into one pan. Thinly slice the duck breasts crosswise. Place the duck slices on the plates, spoon some of the glaze over the duck and serve with the roasted carrots.

Steps:

• Combine honey, soy sauce, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes.
• In a large saucepan, bring 4 quarts water to a boil. Meanwhile, remove giblets and neck from duck cavity and discard (or reserve for another use). Cut off excess fat from cavity and neck area, then cut off tail. (This helps balance the duck vertically over the beer can.)
• Using your fingers, carefully separate the skin from the breast meat through the bottom of the breasts and work your fingers upward to separate the skin from the meat (be careful not to tear skin). Next, separate the skin from the backbone through the neck and working your way down until you reach the legs. (Scissors are helpful, but be careful to avoid piercing the skin.) Transfer duck to a rack set in the sink.
• Using a ladle or measuring cup, pour half of the boiling water evenly over top of the duck. Flip duck and pour the remaining water evenly all over second side. Tilt duck to drain all water from the cavity, then pat dry with paper towels.
• In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder with 1 teaspoon salt, the black pepper and 1 tablespoon of the glaze. Rub the mixture inside the cavity. Stand duck vertically by inserting beer can into cavity and place in a roasting pan or on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Using a pastry brush, brush the remaining glaze all over the duck and sprinkle evenly with remaining 2 teaspoons salt. Place duck in the refrigerator, uncovered, until the skin feels dry and leathery, 24 hours.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees with rack in bottom third of oven. Remove duck from refrigerator, and add 1 1/2 cups water to the pan. Wrap wing tips and tips of drumsticks with foil to prevent burning, then loosely tent duck with foil. Roast for 15 minutes. Decrease temperature to 350 degrees and roast, tented with foil, until skin is mahogany and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes more, adding more water to the pan if needed.
• Leaving duck on the can, transfer duck vertically to a cutting board and let rest for 15 minutes. Carve the crispy skin from the back and legs of the duck, and slice into strips.
• Carefully remove duck from the beer can and return to cutting board. Carve off the breasts and legs; thinly slice the breasts and shred dark meat.
• Carefully strain pan juices into a small bowl and pour off all the fat. In another small bowl, whisk together the hoisin, sesame oil and up to 1/4 cup of the pan juices to form sauce.
• To serve, spread 1 tablespoon prepared sauce on each tortilla. Top each with some scallions, cucumbers, duck meat and crispy skin. Roll up and enjoy warm.

Steps:

• In a large, heavy self-sealing plastic bag, combine the garlic, ginger, five-spice powder, salt, and pepper. Add the duck breasts, seal, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. Remove from the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C/gas 6. In a large ovenproof sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Sear the duck breast, skin side down, for 5 minutes; turn and sear for 5 minutes on the other side. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 5 minutes for medium-rare. Transfer the duck breasts to a plate and keep warm.
• To make a balsamic jus, pour off the fat from the pan. Return the pan to medium-high heat, add the wine, and stir to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook to reduce the wine by half. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook to reduce for several more minutes.
• Cut the duck breasts into diagonal slices and serve drizzled with the balsamic jus.

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.