Crispy duck is a rich and flavourful meal, perfect for a special dinner when you want to impress. Have a go at making your own plum sauce and you’ll never go back to buying pre-made. For more ideas with duck, have a look at our duck recipe collection.
Ingredients
- 4 free-range duck breasts
- for the plum sauce
- 1kg plums, halved
- 250ml red wine vinegar
- 1tsp dried chilli flakes
- 5 star anise
- 1tsp Sichuan peppercorns, crushed
- 5cm piece ginger, peeled and chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 75ml Japanese soy sauce
- 200g light muscovado sugar
Method
For the sauce, put the plums, vinegar, spices, ginger and garlic into a sauté pan and add 250ml water. Bring to the boil then simmer until the plums are really soft and squidgy. Push this through a sieve into a bowl. Return to the pan and add the soy sauce and sugar. Simmer gently for 10 mins. Sterilise a large jar or bottle with boiling water then pour in the hot sauce. Cover once cooled. You can serve it hot or cold with a variety of meats and poultry and it’s delicious served with a melted Camembert.
To prepare the duck, season the skin and cook fat side down in a frying pan on a low heat until the fat has been rendered. Heat the oven to 200C. Put the duck into a small roasting tin and roast skin side up until just pink, about 10 mins depending on thickness. Heat the sauce through and serve with rice and steamed pak choi, with the sauce poured over.
