Duck with Orange Sauce

*Post by Angela.

Have you ever come across a recipe you think is a sure win, only to have it go inexplicably hinky? Well, fine, Mr./Ms. Top Chef, maybe that only happens to me. I love duck. Mark loves orange sauce. I thought there was no way this duck in orange sauce recipe could miss. I was wrong. The duck turned out fine. Great, even. But it's pretty difficult to screw up duck, given its richness and high fat content. The sauce was another matter. For some reason, it turned out more bitter/sour than sweet, which I suspect was due to the rind in the marmalade I used. Whatever the reason, it just didn't taste like it should have. Mark really didn't like it. I didn't mind it so much, but I agreed that it didn't compare to restaurant-style orange sauce. Oh, well. I decided to write it up anyway, and maybe someone can spot what I did wrong.

List of ingredients:

• 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp orange juice
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup orange marmalade
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 4 duck breasts
• 1 tbsp paprika
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

First, in a small bowl, I combined the cornstarch and 2 tbsp of the orange juice and made a slurry.

I combined the remaining 3/4 cup orange juice, the chicken broth, and the marmalade in a pan, and brought it to a boil over medium high heat. Then I lowered the heat, added the cornstarch slurry, and simmered it for 15 minutes. I took the sauce off the heat and covered it, keeping it warm.

In the meanwhile, I scored the duck breasts (cut through the skin and fat just to the duck meat) and seasoned it with the paprika, salt and pepper, then preheated the oven to 350 degrees.

After about 10 minutes, I seared the duck breasts in my grill pan, skin-side down, until the fat had rendered, about 3-4 minutes. I turned the breasts over and stuck the pan in the oven for about 15 minutes. I removed the meat from the pan to let it rest for about 10 more minutes before slicing.

I served the duck with some rice and spooned the sauce over the top. In actuality, the sauce wasn't really all that bad. It was just not at all what I was looking for. I suppose it was too much to hope for that something so simple could replicate the richer and more complex orange sauces I've had out. Next time, I'll put spend a little extra effort to see if I can come up with a crave-worthy orange sauce. Also, if anyone has a tried and true recipe for orange sauce, please let me know. Mark will thank you for it!

Comments

[Debb]

I love rinds but they taste horrible after long cooking. I do love using orange juice to cook instead. Try OJ cooked with soy sauce and mix in the marmalade after the you remove the sauce so it still have the pretty rind garnish but without the bitter taste.

[JC Gibbs]

Hi, I would like to know which brand of Orange Marmalade you used, that could be something important to change.

I would also agree with the comment above me and either just reduced orange juice, or light up the marmalade with water and pass through sieve so no orange peel gets in your sauce.

Good luck!

[Angela]

Debb and JC-
I'm not sure what the name of the brand is (had a homemade-looking label), but I know that it had a LOT of rind in it. I wasn't really thinking very well, like you, Debb, I love cooking with rind and just assumed that it would be a plus. I'm going to try this again using a non-rindy marmelade, I think, rather than just avoiding cooking it. Thanks, you guys!