Serious Eats: Recipes
Dinner Tonight: Broiled Duck Breasts with Orange Chipotle Sauce
I think the last time I had duck was in March of 2008, which is not something I'm particularly proud to admit. For my return I decided to try this recipe from Gourmet, which paired broiled duck with a wonderful-sounding orange chipotle sauce. It wasn't until I had plated this dish and carefully poured the sauce on top that I noticed that this recipe was listed as a modern interpretation of Duck à L'Orange. Obviously, the orange juice gave it away, but I was thinking more of the chipotle and cinnamon, which I knew would give the sauce an added kick. They certainly did.
Everything is spectacularly simple. The sauce just requires chucking everything in a pot and letting it simmer away. The only thing that might seem a little tedious are the details for filling the roasting pan with water and making sure it is at least 6 inches away from the flame. These are both absolutely essential. The duck breasts are loaded with fat, and without the water that fat will drip down onto the roasting pan, burn, and smoke. The water allows the fat to collect peacefully in the pan. But if the meat is too close to the flame it will also burn and smoke. You have been warned.
I sided this plate with some beautiful rainbow chard. Some bread wouldn't hurt, either. Anything, really, to be able to lap up more of that sauce.
Broiled Duck Breasts with Orange Chipotle Sauce
About the author: Nick Kindelsperger is a Chicago-based freelance writer and a co-founder of The Paupered Chef.