One of my favorite game dishes is Duck. I love to order it, especially in France where the duck is so fresh and full of flavor without any sauce.
When I saw them at the butcher, I was compelled to replicate one of these simple recipes until I realized I might have some ingredients for a nice sauce. So with my Google in hand, I went to my favorite website to find the best techniques.
As it turns out, it’s hard to overcook Duck because of its rich dark, and fatty meat. You would have to barely cook it to undercook it and cook it for hours because you forgot it was in the oven to overcook it. Works for me!
Here is a simple Pan-Fried Duck With Date Sauce recipe in which you can most likely swap out similar ingredients for a fancy but quick dinner preparation.
Dinner for Two
2 Duck Legs
1/4 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5-6 large Dates with pits removed and halved
1/2 cup of Dried Cranberries (half for sauce and half for salad)
1/2 Tblsp of red wine vinegar
Merlot Jam
2 Tblsp of Honey
Fresh Rosemary Sprig
1/8 cup of red wine (optional)
Instructions:
Wash and Dry the Duck legs.
Heat oil in a cast iron pan on medium heat. Add the dates and cranberries and saute for about 3 minutes (until the dates have softened). Add the red wine vinegar and deglaze for 30 seconds before adding the honey. Cook for about 2 minutes until it turns into a sauce and remove from the pan and set in a small bowl.
Add another tablespoon of oil and turn up the heat to medium-high heat. Place the Duck in the pan. Cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side. (Another deglazing with a dry red wine might be a good option during this process to avoid hardening of the sauce.) Once each side is crispy, add the sauce back into the pan with the duck, add rosemary sprigs over the duck legs, lower the heat, cover the pan, and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Plate the duck with sauce over or under the duck leg and serve with an arugula salad with cranberries.
You want to pair this recipe with light but well-rounded wines. You don’t want anything too overpowering to inhibit the distinct date sauce, yet nothing too light that wouldn’t stand up against it.
I would choose the following wines:
Chardonnay
Barbera
Pinot Noir
Barolo
Gewurtztraminer
Beaujolais
French Marsanne or Rousanne