Introduction: Duck With a Redcurrant and Red Wine Sauce | Cooking With Benji

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About: I am an amateur cook that loves nothing more than sharing my passion for cooking with other people. I taught myself to cook and certainly no stranger to a number of kitchen disasters. This however is okay, whe…

If you make this duck dish for your loved ones they will love even more. I will show you how to make a really simple and yet impressive dish that you could knock together in just 30 minutes if you time it right.

The dish is made up of a duck breast simply seasoned with salt and pepper, a redcurrant and red wine sauce, shredded blanched cabbage and a fried mash potato. You can make the mash potato especially or even better use left overs.

To make this you will need:

  • 2 duck breasts, you can get them from almost any super market or your butchers
  • Your favourite variety of cabbage, savoy works great too, even brussel sprouts, yum
  • 1 vegetable stock cube
  • Mash potato, make it fresh or use left overs
  • 1 medium egg, beaten
  • A small plate of plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
  • Red wine, a large glass, about 250ml
  • Redcurrant jelly, you could use anything you like, swap it out for a plum jelly if you want a plumb and red wine sauce
  • A knob of butter
  • Half a red onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • Salt and pepper

Step 1: Method

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius fan assisted.

  1. First start by preparing the duck breasts, score cut into the skin making a cross pattern, be careful not to cut too deep and cut into the meet.
  2. Season the skin with some salt and pepper, the salt will help to give us a lovely crispy skin.
  3. Now make a start on the cabbage, cut about 4 leaves (you can use more if you like), take out the heart of the cabbage with a triangular cut. Roll the leaves up all together and cut into strips.
  4. Now, time to make a start on the potato, take some mash potato, leftovers work great here, shape into a burger patty size portion, dip in beaten egg and then seasoned flour. You may find the potato will become very soft and start to fall apart but don't worry when we start to fry them we can pull them back together.
  5. Place the duck in a cold pan skin side down, there is no need for oil, plenty of fat will come out of the duck. We will cook this for about 5-6 minutes, don't touch the duck, just let the skin get nice and crispy. As the fat comes out the duck, spoon off the excess into a bowl but don't throw it away, we will use this for the potato later.
  6. While the duck is frying, start on the sauce, put a knob of butter in a separate pan and add the onion, we will cook this on a medium heat softening in the butter, add the garlic as the onions soften. Don't add the garlic too early otherwise it will burn and go bitter.
  7. After 5-6 minutes, turn the duck skin side up and put in the oven, we will cook this for about 7-9 minutes, depending on the size of your duck.
  8. Once your duck is in the oven, take a fresh skillet and add the duck fat from earlier. Add your potato to the pan and fry, resist the temptation to move the potato, let it bottom crisp up, it will help keep the potato together when we flip it.
  9. Add a large glass of wine, about 250ml to the onions and garlic and 3 teaspoons of redcurrant jelly, you may use more or less depending on how tart your jelly is. Cook this down, the sugar in the jelly will give you a nice shiny thick sauce.
  10. Flip the potato and take your duck out the oven, set to rest for 10 minutes covered in aluminium foil.
  11. Strain the sauce through a sieve into a new pan, turn to a low heat and simmer to keep warm.
  12. Pour a just boiled kettle of water into a large hot pan, add the vegetable stock cube to the water and then the cabbage, blanch so it will stay green and tender for around 5 minutes.
  13. Remove the potato from the heat when crispy on the other side, carve the duck breasts, strain the cabbage and plate up.

Step 2: Plate Up

You can plate however you like, use your imagination, this is how I do it though:

  1. Start with your fried mash potato, soft and delicious inside
  2. Lay down your cabbage on top of your potato
  3. Place your just pink carved duck on top with you crispy skin facing upwards on top of your cabbage
  4. Spoon generous helping of your sauce over the duck and around the plate

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And enjoy :)