Name: Duck Breast with Port and Cherry Sauce
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 2 Barbary duck breasts, skin on (about 700 g together); salt (for duck and sauce); pepper, freshly ground (for duck and sauce); 1 tbsp hazelnut oil (for searing); 100 ml red port (ruby); 100 ml sour cherry juice; 200 ml poultry stock; 4 tbsp sour cherries (from a jar, drained); 1 sprig thyme; lemon juice (to taste); sugar (a pinch, to taste); 30 g cold butter (in flakes, to thicken, optional)

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 80 °C (conventional) and put a plate on the middle shelf.
Score the skin of the duck breasts several times on the diagonal without cutting into the dark meat, then season generously on both sides with salt and pepper and massage the seasoning into the cuts.
Heat the hazelnut oil in a frying pan until very hot and sear the breasts skin side down for 3 minutes over the highest heat. Turn and fry for another 2 minutes at about two thirds of the heat, then place the breasts on the warm plate and rest in the oven for 30 minutes, until just still pink.
Pour the rendered fat out of the pan, deglaze the pan juices with the cherry juice and port, pour in the stock and add the thyme. Loosen the browned bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon and reduce the sauce to the desired consistency.
Add the cherries to the sauce, remove the sprig of thyme and season with lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper. If you prefer a glossier, silkier sauce, stir in the cold butter flakes at the end.
Slice the duck breasts on the diagonal, fan out on plates and serve with the sauce. Celeriac purée goes well with it.

Drink with it

Red wine · excellent match
Spätburgunder or Pinot Noir, medium-bodied
Cherry fruit and fine acidity pick up the sauce, and the low tannins keep the pink meat juicy.
Which wine pairs with food? A simple approach to choosing
Sour beer · excellent match
Belgian Kriek (cherry lambic)
Sour cherry in the glass, sour cherry in the sauce; the acidity and carbonation of the lambic cut through the duck fat.
What is sour beer? Recognizing intentional acidity
Fortified wine · good match
Ruby Port, lightly chilled, in a small glass
The same port is in the sauce; its sweetness carries on the cherry, but it must be kept to a small glass, otherwise it overwhelms the meat.
Port wine: understanding Ruby, Tawny, and Vintage
Cognac and brandy · good match
Cognac VSOP, neat, after the meal
Dried fruit and woody spice link up with the reduced port sauce.
Cognac and Armagnac: Two Origins for Brandy

Why it pairs well

Cherry beer with duck sounds unusual, but in Belgium it is an established pairing: the sour cherry in the beer meets the cherries in the sauce.

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 80 °C (conventional) and put a plate on the middle shelf.
Score the skin of the duck breasts several times on the diagonal without cutting into the dark meat, then season generously on both sides with salt and pepper and massage the seasoning into the cuts.
Heat the hazelnut oil in a frying pan until very hot and sear the breasts skin side down for 3 minutes over the highest heat. Turn and fry for another 2 minutes at about two thirds of the heat, then place the breasts on the warm plate and rest in the oven for 30 minutes, until just still pink.
Pour the rendered fat out of the pan, deglaze the pan juices with the cherry juice and port, pour in the stock and add the thyme. Loosen the browned bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon and reduce the sauce to the desired consistency.
Add the cherries to the sauce, remove the sprig of thyme and season with lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper. If you prefer a glossier, silkier sauce, stir in the cold butter flakes at the end.
Slice the duck breasts on the diagonal, fan out on plates and serve with the sauce. Celeriac purée goes well with it.

Drink with it

Red wine · excellent match
Spätburgunder or Pinot Noir, medium-bodied
Cherry fruit and fine acidity pick up the sauce, and the low tannins keep the pink meat juicy.
Which wine pairs with food? A simple approach to choosing
Sour beer · excellent match
Belgian Kriek (cherry lambic)
Sour cherry in the glass, sour cherry in the sauce; the acidity and carbonation of the lambic cut through the duck fat.
What is sour beer? Recognizing intentional acidity
Fortified wine · good match
Ruby Port, lightly chilled, in a small glass
The same port is in the sauce; its sweetness carries on the cherry, but it must be kept to a small glass, otherwise it overwhelms the meat.
Port wine: understanding Ruby, Tawny, and Vintage
Cognac and brandy · good match
Cognac VSOP, neat, after the meal
Dried fruit and woody spice link up with the reduced port sauce.
Cognac and Armagnac: Two Origins for Brandy

Why it pairs well

Cherry beer with duck sounds unusual, but in Belgium it is an established pairing: the sour cherry in the beer meets the cherries in the sauce.

Duck Breast with Port and Cherry Sauce

Preparation

Drink with it

Spätburgunder or Pinot Noir, medium-bodied

Belgian Kriek (cherry lambic)

Ruby Port, lightly chilled, in a small glass

Cognac VSOP, neat, after the meal

This pairs well too.

Cassoulet

Duck Breast with Honey and Mustard

Duck Breast with Orange Sauce

Duck Legs with Red Wine Shallots

Duck Breast with Port and Cherry Sauce

Preparation

Drink with it

Spätburgunder or Pinot Noir, medium-bodied

Belgian Kriek (cherry lambic)

Ruby Port, lightly chilled, in a small glass

Cognac VSOP, neat, after the meal

This pairs well too.

Cassoulet

Duck Breast with Honey and Mustard

Duck Breast with Orange Sauce

Duck Legs with Red Wine Shallots