Recipe courtesy of Jonathan Waxman
Whole Duck with Sauce Bigarade
- Level: Advanced
- Yield: 6 to 8 servings
- Total: 2 hr 25 min (includes cooling time)
- Active: 1 hr 15 min
Ingredients
Duck:
2 Liberty ducks from Sonoma
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 heads garlic
One 750-milliliter bottle red Zinfandel
2 quarts duck or chicken stock
4 red onions, peeled and halved
1 blood orange, quartered
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Gratin:
4 ounces Vermont butter
1 pound assorted fingerling potatoes, halved
1 pound large asparagus, sliced on the bias into 2-inch pieces
2 poblanos, stemmed, seeded and sliced into 2-inch slices
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 pound aged Gruyere, cut into thick slices
1/2 cup cassis syrup
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
3 blood oranges, 1 segmented and 2 juiced
2 heads radicchio
1 cup Castelvetrano pitted green olives, chopped
Directions
Special equipment:
a pressure cooker- For the duck: Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.
- Carve the duck legs from the carcasses and sprinkle the legs with salt and pepper. Place in a roasting pan and roast for 10 minutes.
- In a pressure cooker, add the garlic and wine. Reduce the wine by half, then add the duck stock. Add the cooked legs along with the onions and the blood oranges. Seal the pressure cooker and bring to pressure; cook for 20 minutes under pressure.
- Rub the duck breast with the olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper, then place in a roasting pan and roast for 18 minutes. Baste the duck breast with the melted butter. Let cool, then carve the breasts off the carcass. Remove the duck legs from the pressure cooker and set aside. Reserve the liquid in the pressure cooker.
- For the gratin: In a cast-iron skillet, add the Vermont butter, potatoes, asparagus and poblanos. Season with 1 teaspoon salt. Sauté for 5 minutes on high heat, then add the cream, Gruyere and 1 teaspoon pepper. Place the skillet in the oven until golden brown, about 18 minutes.
- In a high-sided saute pan, add the cassis syrup and vinegar. Cook over high heat until syrupy, then add the blood orange juice and reserved liquid from the pressure cooker. Let boil for 10 minutes. Strain the liquid into a medium saucepan and add the blood orange segments. Keep warm until ready to serve.
- Preheat a grill to medium heat.
- Sprinkle the duck breasts with salt and pepper, then grill them skin side down. At same time, grill the radicchio, about 8 minutes. Chop the radicchio, then add to a bowl with along with the orange segments and olives.
- Slice the duck breasts and sauce with the cassis sauce on a large platter. Toss the legs with the radicchio, orange sections, juice and olives. Scoop out the gratin onto the platter, and then the duck leg mixture.