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  • dinners

Dropout Duck à l'Orange

Welcome to this delicious journey of cooking the Dropout Duck à l'Orange. This traditional French dish of succulent duck breast paired with a zesty orange sauce and braised fennel is sure to captivate your taste buds and take your culinary skills to the next level. As an Iron Chef inspired recipe, we have added our own twist to this classic dish to provide a more complex and balanced flavor profile. Keep reading and let's start cooking!

  • SERVES
    4
  • PREP TIME
    30 minutes
  • Cook TIME
    1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients
  • 2 duck breasts
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 oranges
  • 2 fennels
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons of honey
  • 1 tablespoon of Grand Marnier
  • 2 tablespoons of butter
  • 1/2 cup of dry white wine
  • 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
Directions
  1. Season the duck breasts with salt and pepper.
  2. In a cold pan, place the duck breasts skin side down, then turn the heat to medium-low. Cook for 15 minutes.
  3. While duck is cooking, slice oranges and set aside. Keep the juice of one orange.
  4. Once the duck is golden and crispy, flip and cook for another 4 minutes, then set aside.
  5. In the same pan, add sliced fennel and sauté until tender.
  6. Remove the fennel and set aside. Add the orange juice, Grand Marnier, chicken broth, honey, and white wine to the pan.
  7. Simmer the mixture until reduced by half then add cornstarch to thicken the sauce.
  8. Stir in the butter until the sauce is glossy.
  9. Return the duck and fennel to the pan, coating them with the sauce.
  10. Serve the duck with some fennel and pour the orange sauce over. Garnish with orange slices.

Duck à l'Orange is a classic French dish that is recognized and loved worldwide. It's a simple yet sophisticated recipe that combines the rich flavor of duck with the fresh zestiness of oranges. However, in the spirit of Iron Chef, we wanted to elevate this dish by adding our own twist.

Our version of Duck à l'Orange was inspired by the culinary philosophy of balance. We wanted to create a dish that brings together contrasting flavors in a harmonious way. This is why we added braised fennel to the recipe. The fennel, with its unique anise-like flavor, adds a new layer of complexity to the dish. It complements the sweetness of the orange and honey, and the richness of the duck, resulting in a more balanced and satisfying meal.

This recipe is not just about cooking a meal, but about experiencing a symbiosis of flavors and textures. The crispy duck skin, the tender breast meat, the sweet and tangy orange sauce, and the aromatic fennel all come together to create a dish that is truly more than the sum of its parts. So whether you're an experienced home cook, or just starting out in your culinary journey, this Dropout Duck à l'Orange recipe is sure to impress. Happy cooking!

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