Smoked Duck
with Cranberry Coulis
This past Thanksgiving day dawned gray and chilly. There's still a bit of color on the trees, but most of the leaves have fallen. To some degree this harks back to childhood Thanksgivings when it was often cold and rainy, although it was usually colder than this and almost all of the trees would be bare except the oaks, which keep their brown leaves throughout the winter.
I spent most of the day on the phone working the Chefsline hotline. It was a busy day, as you might expect, but not as interesting as last year, no really weird questions or tough problems. The most common question this year was about cooking two turkey breasts at once. It's a good question but the answer is simple — treat as separate birds (not one big bird) but allow some extra time for cooking. And between calls I managed to do my prep for dinner.
Thanksgiving was a small affair this year
Thanksgiving was a small affair this year, my sister wasn't able to join us and as usual my brothers' families and their distance from here prevented them from coming. So it was just my parents and myself. I made some Cece Fritos to munch on before dinner, and brined a couple of duck breasts in a cider brine. I smoked the breasts and made a cranberry/orange coulis to go on them.My mother and I both had an urge for dressing, so she made some and I made a smoked-turkey gravy thinking the smoky flavor in the gravy would complement the smoky flavor of the duck — it did. We also had braised red cabbage, sautéed green beans, and store-bought plum pudding with assorted cheeses for dessert.
Smoked Duck Breasts w/Cranberry CoulisA simple meal but good and festive, and we were happy to share it with each other. After all, that's what Thanksgiving's about.
Serves 4.
Duck Breasts & Brine:
3 1/2-lb duck breasts
2 c apple cider
1/4 c kosher salt
2 tbsp sugar
4 cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Place all ingredients except breasts in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt. Cool to room temperature, place in the refrigerator and chill. Score the skin of the breasts in a cross-hatch pattern, being careful not to cut through to the skin. Put breasts in a zip-lock bag and add brine. Seal and refrigerate for 8 hours.
Lightly season the skin side of breasts with salt and pepper. Smoke breasts in a stove-top smoker for 30 - 35 minutes. Pour the rendered fat into a skillet, place over medium-high heat, and briefly cook the breasts, skin-side down, to crisp the skin. Slice, plate, and spoon warm cranberry coulis over the slices.
Cranberry Coulis
6 oz cranberries — picked over
1 lg orange — zested and juiced
1/4 c sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 c orange liqueur (Triple Sec, Cointreau, Grand Marnier)
You should have about a cup of fresh orange juice, if not, add water (or more orange juice to bring to 1 cup). Put all ingredients in a small sauce pan including orange zest but excluding liqueur and simmer until berries burst — 15 - 18 minutes. Add liqueur and process in a blender or food processor until pureed. (Note, this is a case where I love my immersion blender because it minimizes cleanup.) Warm before serving.
This coulis is also excellent on roasted pork, lamb, turkey, and chicken.
Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | smoked duck | cranberry coulis | thanksgiving | holiday
Labels: coulis, cranberry, duck, holiday food, recipe, Thanksgiving
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