This is the original duck l’orange.
Before there was the gloppy 1960s version that tastes more like cheap, steam-table Chinese sweet-and-sour sauce, this classic version of the recipe is lighter and just a little bitter — the dish was originally made with bitter Seville oranges, and if you can find them, by all means use them.
Citrus and waterfowl just seem to go together, and, like my Goose Breast with Orange-Ouzo Sauce, this one also hinges on oranges. They are also in season at the same time here in Northern California. The sauce should be made while the duck is resting.
If you don’t cook ducks often, here is my tutorial on how to sear a duck breast. If you don’t want to make your own demi-glace, you can buy duck demi-glace online.
This recipe is way better with skin-on breasts, but it'll work with skinless. Figure on 1 breast per person, or 2 per for smaller ducks -- or even more for teal.
- 2 duck breasts
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon duck fat, lard or olive oil
- 1 teaspoon flour
- 1 shot glass of Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur (optional)
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar or sherry vinegar
- 1/4 cup demi-glace or glace de viande
- Juice of an orange
- 1/2 an orange, quartered and sliced thinly
- Salt your duck breast halves at least 30 minutes before you begin. Let them rest at room temperature during this time.
- Heat the duck fat in a medium saute pan over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Meanwhile, pat the duck breasts dry with a paper towel. Lay the breast halves down in the hot fat and cook, undisturbed, for 5-8 minutes. Listen for a steady sizzle, nothing too violent. If the sizzle gets to fierce, turn the heat down to medium.
- Check the skin of the breasts: If they are browned and crispy, turn them over. If not, give them another minute or two. After the breasts are turned, cook for another 2-3 minutes. You might also want to "kiss" the edges of the breast, just to brown them well. When the breasts are cooked, set aside on a cutting board and tent with foil while you make the sauce.
- To make the bigarade, turn the heat to medium and sprinkle the flour into the pan and stir to combine; this makes a roux. Let it cook, stirring occasionally, until it is the color of coffee-with-cream, about 5 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and stir to combine, then add the demi-glace, vinegar and the Grand Mariner if using. Everything will spatter, but whisk in the orange juice until it gets to a consistency you like. You may need more or less than a whole orange's worth.
- To serve, lay down some sauce, top with slices of the breasts. Garnish with thin slices of orange. It's excellent with mashed potatoes or a wild rice pilaf.
If you don't have glace de viande (good supermarkets often have it in jars), boil down stock by half. Watch your salt levels if you do this, though.
Hank. I can’t convince my hunters to leave the duck skin on breasts! This is so disappointing for the cook. So should I treat your recipes the same, obviously except for the oh so delicious skin?
Lana: Keep trying. Maybe someday they will see the light. Yes, you can do this recipe with a skinless breast, but it’s a shadow of what it would be otherwise…
I need some insider tips for finding these Seville oranges. Here in Logan, UT, we don’t have a lot of good specialty markets, but for the most part I have gotten by. Enter the Green Curry from DDG. We made this once with substitutes and omissions and it was good, but I wanted the real deal. Well, once a week I work in Salt Lake City, and I found an incredible Asian market that had EVERYTHING I was having trouble finding (and much, much more). I was doing Chris Farley cartwheels in their parking lot. So this is another one that I have made substituting the pathetic-grade navel oranges that that find their way to Logan. but I want the real deal! What type of market should I look for the next time I am in SLC???
CHad: Get it in bottles at Latin markets. It’ll be called jugo de naranja agria.