Saturday, August 20, 2011

Guest Post: Duck with Tart Cherry Port Sauce and Hazelnuts

In a new apartment across the country from home, the lovely and linguistically savvy Heather breaks in her kitchen:

Where the craving for duck in August came from, I’m not sure. But I found this recipe and followed it almost exactly, except for the duck breasts part.

I could not locate duck breasts or, for that matter, any ducks at all (except live ones) in my town. Spokane came to the rescue with whole ducks (and maybe would even have coughed up duck breasts if I’d looked harder). So whole, in fact, that they still retained both head and feet. Which my husband (dear man, and used to animal feet from his Chinese parents) promptly removed with a cleaver. So, if you can find the duck breasts, let me know how it turns out.

If you have to get a whole duck as I did, simply roast for 2-3 hours, depending on the size of the duck, and then slice off what you like. I didn’t season the roasting duck except for a bit of kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper, as I didn’t want the seasoned meat to compete with the flavor of the sauce. They say the hazelnuts are optional, but they are delicious with the meat.

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