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Duck a l'Orange | Sous Vide

Introduction & method

The French call it canard a l'orange, English speakers will call it duck with orange sauce or, if they're feeling exotic, duck a l'orange. This simple but tasty dish became massively popular outside France in the sixties and seventies. I'm using sous vide to cook my duck breasts  because it gives incredibly tender meat.

Duck a l'Orange | Sous Vide Recipe

Sous Vide Method


Set your immersion circulator to 57°C (135°F). Season the duck breasts with plenty of sea salt and pop them in a zip-lock or vacuum bag along with all the other ingredients except the vinegar and butter. Cook for 2 hours. Remove the duck from the bag, score the skin in a criss-cross pattern, season with salt, and sear the skin on a hot griddle for 2-3 minutes until golden-brown and crispy.

Conventional Method


Score the duck skin in a criss-cross pattern, season with salt, and cook on a hot griddle for 6 minutes on the skin side, followed by 4 minutes on the other side.

Rest the Meat


Place the duck breasts on a warm plate and wrap in foil. Leave for 10-15 minutes to rest.

Make the Sauce


Rapidly simmer the vinegar in a saucepan until reduced by half. Add the strained liquid from the sous vide bag and boil rapidly until reduced to about half a cup. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter. To serve, slice the meat along the score lines.



The video above is from the Keef Cooks YouTube channel. Click here to see the video recipe of Duck a l'Orange | Sous Vide on YouTube.

 

Ingredients & Info


BATTER
 2 duck breasts
 juice and zest of 2 oranges
 4 cloves garlic
 1 small onion or shallot
 4 sprigs of thymes
 1 tbsp black peppercorns
 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
 1 cup chicken or duck stock
 large knob of butter

UNITS:
Metric
US Customary/Imperial

Serves 2 
Prep time: 10 minutes.
Resting time: 10 minutes.
Cooking time: 2 hours 10 minutes.
Total time: 2 hours 20 minutes.