Duck a l'Orange! ~ A Chef Sam O *Dream Come True*!

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SO happy that Sam was able to fulfill one of his cooking dreams. We bought some duck breasts yesterday, and came home and made a fanTAStic dinner.

Sam started by slicing some orange zest and blanching it in boiling water for one minute...

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Then, he juiced the orange, and in a saucepan over high heat, reduced it down to two tablespoons...



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...added balsamic vinegar...



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The scored duck breasts...

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...adding sugar to the orange/stock/balsamic/Grand Mariner mixture...



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...seasoning the duck...



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Realizing we needed another dish for our dinner, Sam chose to chop up some sweet potatoes to roast. He covered them w/olive oil, sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and some red pepper flakes...roasted them in a single layer on a baking sheet at 450.



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The duck breasts in the pan, skin side down, over med-low heat. No extra *fat* is needed in the pan, as the duck skin is loaded with fat. The fat must be poured out of the pan a few times during this *skin-side-down* cooking time...


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They're looking good...


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FINITO!!! ...




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They look like they're perfectly done!!...



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Deglazing the pan w/the orange mixture: the blanched orange skins, the juice of 1 orange, reduced down to 2 tablespoons, 1/2 cup duck broth (we used chicken), reduced down to 2 tablespoons, 1 tablespoon Grand Mariner, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1/8 teaspoon sugar...




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Adding 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter...




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Look at that GORGEOUS duck breast. Well DONE, Chef Sam!!...




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Sam, adding the a l'orange part! :) ...




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Mm-hmm... my my... simply GORGEOUS...



We served it with: my awesome homemade stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce, and Sam's sweet potato chunks.



I have never had a piece of meat that was this tender, this delicious. Thank you, Sam!



If you are interested, here is the exact recipe we used: Duck a l'Orange.


EnJOY!! . . .

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