A lovely skinless duck alternative that brings out the taste of the duck meat and exudes a beautiful nutty aroma. The cardamom cherry sauce rounds it up. Serve with wild rice or potato dumplings and stewed red cabbage with cloves.

This recipe has many steps but you will be rewarded by the results.

Inspired by a Maple Leaf Farms recipe from 1999

Ingredients for 4:

Duck breasts

• 4 duck breasts
• ½ cup of hazelnuts finely chopped
• ½ cup fine breadcrumbs
• 1 TBSP finely chopped fresh rosemary needles
• Crushed seeds of 1 cardamom pod
• ½ tsp salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• 1 egg beaten with 1 TBSP water
• 1 TBSP honey
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 TBSP of sour pomegranate molasses (or another thick sour fruity alternative)
• Crushed seeds of 1 cardamom pod
• 1 tsp of very finely chopped rosemary needles
• 2 TBSP butter
• 2 TBSP olive oil

Sauce

• 1 large jar of cherries and juice with as little sugar as possible
• ½ cup of dry red wine
• 2 TBSP of Sherry or Port
• 1 organic orange – remove 4 large zests with a vegetable peeler and then juice the orange
• 4 cardamom pods
• 4 cloves
• ½ star anise
• 1 pinch of cinnamon
• Fresh ground black pepper and salt
• 1 pinch of chili flakes or powder
• 1 shallot finely chopped
• 1 ½ TBSP of cornstarch
• 2 cups of duck stock – either homemade or store-bought

Putting it all together:

• Strain the cherries from the jar or can retaining the juice in a bowl to which you add 2 orange zests, 2 cloves, and 2 cardamom pods slightly crushed.
• Place the cherries In another bowl and add the wine, Sherry or Port, 2 orange zests, 2 cloves, 2 cardamom pod slightly crushed and the ½ star anise. Mix and set aside.
• For the rub: mix the honey, salt, pepper, pomegranate sour, crushed cardamom seeds of 1 pod and rosemary in a small bowl and set aside.
• Use a small sharp knife and your hands to remove the duck skin. Try to keep the meat intact as best possible so the juice doesn’t run out of the meat when cooking.
• Cut the duck skin and fat into medium strips and set aside separately.
• Cover the duck breasts with the rub and let sit for 10-20 minutes at room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius / 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• For the crust combine the hazelnuts, breadcrumbs, rosemary, crushed seeds of one cardamom pod, ½ tsp salt, and fresh ground pepper.
• Once the duck breast has marinated sufficiently, dip the breast in the beaten egg and then roll it in the breadcrumb/hazelnut mixture to cover generously.
• In the meantime, lightly fry the duck skin and fat in a saucepan so as to release the duck flavor about 5 minutes. Remove the skin and discard it.
• Strain the cherry marinating juice into the original cherry juice and add them to the saucepan with the duck fat. Bring to a boil and then simmer to reduce, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. Pour the sauce into a sauce separator so you can later discard the fat. Place the separator in the fridge or outside if it’s cold to aid the separation process.
• Wipe the pot with a paper towel and set it aside as is to continue the sauce later.
• Heat the butter and olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Add the breaded duck breasts and fry on each side over medium-high heat about 4 minutes on each side.
• Transfer the duck breasts to a greased baking casserole and insert meat thermometer into the thickest breast meat. Bake in the oven for appox. 20 until the thermometer reads approx. 150 degrees F / 65 degrees C.
• Remove duck breasts from the oven, cover to keep warm and let sit for 5 minutes to finish the cooking process. The breasts will be slightly pink. If you like it pinker or more well down adjust baking time and meat temperature accordingly.
• About 15 minutes before the duck is finished, take up your sauce pan and heat a drop of olive oil, stir fry the shallot until just pale, add 1 cup of duck broth and boil to reduce 5 minutes.
• Add the separated sauce pouring carefully so as to get the sauce but not any of the fat. Discard the fat. Bring sauce to a boil adding the pressed orange juice.
• Remove 1 ladle of sauce into a small bowl letting it cool slightly. Add the cornstarch whisking continuously to make a smooth paste, when the sauce boils add the paste, lower the heat somewhat and stir until the sauce thickens and comes together.
• Add the cherries to the sauce removing the cardamom pods, cloves, zests and star anise.
• Bring once more to a boil, add the cinnamon and chili flakes or powder. Stir and taste to adjust salt and pepper if needed.
• Just before serving, slices each duck breast into 5-6 slices and serve on warm plates, pour the duck juice from the cutting board or baking casserole into the sauce stir once more and serve.