Duck Breast with Port and Cherry Sauce

What are the types of port wine?

Red, white, rose, and aged style called Tawny port. Although our grocery stores carry your average Port wine, you will find some very expensive and highly treasured port wines in specialty wine stores.

Most red Port wines have a berry and chocolate flavor and are slightly sweeter, and the tawny Port has caramel and nut flavors that are more the notes you will enjoy and also even sweeter.

Back to the recipe on hand, shall we?

Do not let cooking with duck and Port wine intimidate you. This recipe is relatively easy to prepare and does not have too many steps.

A manageable level of difficulty, and the only part that requires just a bit of attention, is with scoring the skin, and I have added a tutorial video with this recipe to guide you through it. However, it is pretty simple.

To score the skin of each breast, you must first have a very sharp knife. Holding the breast with one hand and putting a very light pressure with the knife on the skin, score a few lines, making sure you do not put too much pressure to pierce thru the meat.

Make a crosshatch pattern. This process will release the fat, the skin to crisp, and the meat to cook evenly.

This is the most challenging step.

Cooking tips and step-by-step instructions on how to perfect this duck recipe dish.

As with all my recipes, I always suggest you remove all your ingredients and do any prep work before turning on the stove.

Do pit your cherries. Although you may think to leave the pit in and take it off while eating this dish, I strongly discourage you from doing so.

A small pit can cause unnecessary harm, and it is unsafe if you have little kids around.

Bring the duck to room temperature, and meanwhile, you want to work on:

• Finely mincing the shallots.
• Pitting the black cherries.
• Preparing the cornstarch with water and set aside
• Measure the port and chicken stock.
• When selecting the chicken stock, purchase a sodium-free if available.

Once all the above preparation work is done, let’s start cooking the duck.

Per the video below, score the duck’s skin with a very sharp knife. A crosshatch pattern will facilitate the fat stored between the skin and the meat to be released easily while cooking.

• Make sure you are not going all the way through and cut the meaty part of the duck flesh.
• Be generous when seasoning with salt and pepper on both sides of the duck breast.
• Place the duck breast skin side down on a cold skillet. This process will allow the fat side and underneath the skin to melt but not burn the skin itself.
• Leave it alone and do not touch or move for at least 5 to 7 minutes. You want to crisp the skin, and leave it alone, meaning not picking it up or moving it around in the skillet; it will allow it to form a nice golden brown crust that will detach itself naturally from the skillet.
• Check how much fat was rendered at the 7 – 8-minute mark. Here is when I like to remove most of the fat on the skillet and continue with the cooking until the skin is the deep brown and crispy skin.
• Once it has reached 10 to 12 minutes of cooking, turn it over to cook for another 5 to 7 minutes.
• Removing the cooked duck breasts from the skillet, gently cover them loosely with aluminum foil. This will allow the breast to continue cooking yet keep all the juices inside.

Making the port and cherry sauce.

Remove all the fat from the pan. You can reserve and use it for another cooking application if need be.

• Add the minced shallots and stir. You want them to soften but not burn.
• Lower the heat and pour the Port wine into the middle of the skillet. Make sure your face is farther away from the skillet, and you do not have any loose clothing. Any time you cook with alcohol, take extra precautions. By placing the port in the middle of the skillet, the risk of fire due to splatter is lower.
• Deglaze with the help of a small spatula and then reduce; you only have a small shadow of the port in your skillet.
• Add the pitted cherries, cherry preserve, and chicken stock. Boil to reduce.
• Only use the cornstarch if your sauce is too thin. Add it to the sauce and let it thicken for a few minutes.