This is a modern rendition of a nineteenth-century recipe that ultimately became the legendary canard a l'orange, though it bears little resemblance to the gloppy 1960s version of duck a l'orange served in this country. This is much lighter and just a little bitter. The sauce was originally made with sour Seville oranges (bigarade is the Provençal term for these sour citrus), and if you can find them, by all means use them. Citrus and waterfowl are a perfect pair, and they both happen to be in season at the same time. Any skin-on duck breasts will work with this recipe, but I prefer Muscovy or large wild duck breasts.
Serve this dish with roasted or mashed potatoes, polenta, or a wild rice pilaf. A soft white wine is a good choice here, such as a Viognier, a Roussanne, or an oaky Chardonnay.
Ingredients
Serves 4
Preparation
Step 1
Remove the duck breasts from the refrigerator, salt them well, and set them aside at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Step 2
Pan sear the duck breasts. You may have to do this in batches. When the breasts are cooked, set them aside skin side up on a cutting board and let them rest, tented with aluminum foil, while you make the sauce.
Step 3
To make the sauce, pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pan and place the pan over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and stir to combine and make a roux. Let it cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes, until it is the color of coffee with cream.
Step 4
Add a pinch of salt and stir to combine, then slowly stir in the stock, orange juice, liqueur, and vinegar. Everything will spatter at first, but it will calm down. Add any accumulated juices from the duck to the sauce. Let this boil down until it is a little thinner than the consistency of Thanksgiving gravy. Add the sugar, then taste and adjust with salt. If you want a more refined sauce, pour it through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl.
Step 5
To serve, slice the breasts. Spoon some sauce on each plate and top with breast slices. Garnish with the orange zest and orange slices.
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Reviews (6)
Back to TopMade this for my birthday dinner, served w creamy grits (on Epicurious) mixed w goat cheese. This. Duck. Was. Amazing. I did pan sear for 5min then finished for 10min in a 350 oven (duck breasts were about 8oz each). Added orange zest to the sauce while it cooked down but did not add the sugar. Incredibly good, duck came out pink but not too rare, was fork tender and it with the pan sauce was a perfect foil for the grits. Damn fine dinner (if I do say do myself)!
Anonymous
12/30/2020
We really LOVED this duck dish --needed something quick to make w/ duck breasts and this is it. As others suggested, i pan seared for 5 min then broiled for 8 min on 350 degrees w/ foil so the duck doesn't dry out. i've made this before and thought the sauce was a bit bland so i subbed chicken stock duck/mushroom stock and added a bit of garlic pepper, onion powder, cumin seeds, fresh ginger, dried cherries, pomegranate syrup and a dash of anchovy oil and truffle salt....served w/ blood orange slices and zest over sliced duck w/ goat cheese polenta (as another reviewer suggested) and in the left over duck fat i pan seared fresh heirloom tomatoes for 1 min on each side and served warm, they complemented everything perfectly -- part of our regular rotation now!
livingvedas2
Sebastopol, ca
4/27/2016
This was fabulous, festive, and easy. The subtle orange flavor of the sauce is priceless. As another reviewer noted, searing the duck probably won't be enough to cook it through. After searing, I put it in a 350-degree oven while making the sauce.
xwrl
Emeryville CA
11/18/2015
Love a nice duck.
ericsean
1/29/2015
Great, great duck recipe! And surprisingly simple! I wasn't able to get fresh duck, so I got (2) frozen duck breasts...6 oz. each. I followed the recipe exactly, but here are a few notes I observed... 1. I seared the duck skin side down to render out as much fat as possible. And yes...the recipe says "sear", but you're supposed to cook it all the way through. Maybe it's just me, but I usually associate "sear" with a high heat, high crust, but not a thorough cook. 2. As with the previous reviewer, I put the majority of the orange zest in the sauce...delicious. And I didn't add any sugar...it didn't need it! 3. The sauce is thicker than I thought. Or maybe that way just me. It ended up looking like a glaze. Which was fine! I added some chicken broth to thin it out a bit. 4. I made it with some goat cheese polenta. Delicious. Great recipe! I would definitely make it again!
buffsfan14
Boulder, CO
3/26/2014
This is a very nice, simple way to replicate the classic 'Canard à l'Orange'. I finished roasting the duck breasts in a 425 degree oven for 5 minutes after sautéing skin-side down for about 6 minutes. It keeps the meat moist and tender. Also, I added some of the orange zest in the sauce before serving, to add flavour. I can't wait to make it again. Served with a Pinot Noir, it makes a festive meal.
Anonymous
Squamish, BC
1/4/2014
