Duck Breast with Sauteed Foie Gras & Port Reduction

Cook Time 30 minutes
Yield 4
RECIPE Ingredients
  • 1 package Pekin Duck Breast, both breasts split in half
  • 2 packages Foie Gras Slices
  • 2 tart green apples, like a Granny Smith
  • 20 seedless green grapes
  • ½ bottle Port
  • 4 tablespoons oil
  • 4 ounces unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Recipe notes
Pan-seared duck breast cooks quickly in this simple and elegant dish from Alain Allegretti. Serve with foie gras, apples, green grapes, and a port reduction.
RECIPE Preparation
  1. Preheat oven to 385 degrees F.
  2. Prepare the duck breasts: Score the skin side of the duck breasts in a large crosshatch pattern.
  3. Salt both sides of the duck breast and sauté over low heat in 2 tablespoons of canola oil, cooking for about 5 minutes, until the skin becomes crispy. Turn the breasts over and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Set aside.
  4. Prepare the foie gras: Score the foie gras slices on both sides and salt them liberally on both sides.
  5. Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil over high heat in a sauté pan until smoking. Cook the foie gras on both sides until golden. Set on a cooling rack set over a plate or baking sheet to drain the excess fat.
  6. Prepare the fondant garnish: Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. While the oil heats, cut each apple into eight slices and add them to the pan. Cook until golden. Reduce the heat to low and add two ounces of butter and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Continue cooking the apples until they are tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Baste the apples with the sugary butter as they cook. Set aside.
  7. In a pot of boiling water, blanch the grapes for 20 seconds.  Shock them in an ice bath then peel them. Cook them just like the apples. Set aside.
  8. Next, make the sauce: Pour a half bottle of Port into a sauté pan over medium heat and simmer until syrupy.
  9. Finish cooking the duck breasts in the oven for 2 to 3 more minutes, then slice lengthwise. Reheat the foie gras and the other garnishes in the oven until warm, about 2 to 3 minutes, and plate. Drizzle the sliced duck foie gras, apples, and grapes with the port sauce and serve.