The Daily Meal visited Ariane in her home kitchen to film her cooking duck breast, and to learn about D’Artagnan’s proprietary Rohan duck.
Because she is so knowledgeable, any conversation with Ariane is likely to turn into a fascinating discussion, with facts about food and farming. In this video she shows how to sear a duck breast, but it gets really good when she starts talking about raising Rohan ducks.
The full recipe for Duck Breasts with Blueberry-Caramel can be found below, and also at our website with lots of other duck recipes.
A luxurious caramel sauce made with fresh blueberries turns simple pan-seared duck breasts into an extra-decadent meal. This recipe comes together quickly and is equally great for weeknight supper or a special occasion.
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 3 tablespoons Duck and Veal Demi-Glace, divided use
- Coarse salt & freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, divided use
- 4 Rohan Duck Breasts
Preparation
- Make the blueberry-caramel sauce: In a small saucepan over medium-high flame, add blueberries, 1 tablespoon of demi-glace, and a pinch of salt. Cook until blueberries become soft and burst, mashing with a wooden spoon. Continue to cook down until the mixture has dried a bit, about 5 more minutes. Using a blender, purée blueberry mixture until smooth, set aside.
- Rinse saucepan and place back over medium flame. Add remaining demi-glace, sugar, and ½ tablespoon lemon juice. Heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Stop stirring, raise heat to medium-high and cook without touching until sugar becomes a deep amber color. Use a pastry with water to brush sugar crystals off the sides of the pan, if needed. Remove from heat and cool for about 5 minutes. Carefully whisk in blueberry mixture. Cool completely.
- Score the duck skin in a crosshatch pattern being careful to only cut through fat, not the meat. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a dry skillet over medium-high heat. Place the duck breasts skin side down and cook, until fat has rendered and skin is evenly browned. Reserve 1 tablespoon duck fat, set aside. Turn breasts over and continue to cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of one breast reaches 140 degrees F, for medium-rare.
- Whisk reserved duck fat and remaining lemon juice into the blueberry-caramel sauce.
- Allow duck breasts to rest on a cutting board for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving with the sauce.