Eats Writes Shoots

Living & Tasting Life's Passions

  • Home
  • Eats
    • Beer
      • Hopped & Bothered Reviews
      • Beer Reviews
        • Amber/Red Ale
        • Bitter
        • Blonde
        • Brown Ale
        • Farmhouse (Saison)
        • Pale Ale
          • India Pale Ale (IPA)
          • Double (Imperial) IPA
          • Imperial Black IPA
          • American Pale Ale
          • English Pale Ale
        • Lager
        • Scotch Ale
        • Seasonal and/or Specialty
          • Beer with Fruit
        • Stout
          • Imperial Stout
          • Milk Stout
        • Wheat Ale
        • Winter Beers
    • My CSA Challenge – 2013 Edition
    • Recipes
      • Appetizers
      • Breakfast
      • Baking
        • Dessert
          • Cookies
      • Drinks and Cocktails
      • Egg
      • Fish
      • Gluten-Free
      • Lunch
      • Mains
        • Asian
          • Thai
        • Barbecue/Grilling
        • Beef
        • Fusion
        • Greek
        • Italian
        • Lamb
        • Mediterranean
        • Mexican
        • Pasta
        • Pork
        • Poultry
        • Veal
        • Vegetarian
      • Preserves
      • Salad
      • Side Dish
      • Soup
  • Writes
    • Canadian Food Experience Project
    • Poetry
    • The “Benjamin” Project
  • Shoots
  • About the Author
You are here: Home / Eats / Recipes / Asian / Crispy Duck with Persimmon-Mandarin Sauce

Crispy Duck with Persimmon-Mandarin Sauce

December 31, 2013 by Dale 8 Comments

Crispy DuckThere are a handful of things that I’ll order any time I see them on a menu. Thankfully those things don’t often compete in the same restaurants. One of those things is duck … a dish that makes my spine relax with the simple promise of a taste.

It might therefore sound odd that I’ve only prepared duck not many more than a handful of times. The first time I tried my hand at duck, I was probably 25, relatively newly married, and wanting to conquer the kitchen. What better place than to start with a whole roasted canard (duck) à l’orange? Near as I recall, it turned out well, but it’s a dish I never returned to again.

As winter grips us and the holidays surround us, it is a season that screams comfort food and decadence. Few things say this better than duck. It is at once primal — a ‘game’ bird — and sensuous for all the juiciness of its dark, tender flesh and which makes the dark meat of any other fowl shrink away as wholly inadequate.

Thus, wanting to create a dish that both befit the season and was special, I chose duck. However, I wanted something more than a ubiquitous “orange” sauce….

PersimmonThe persimmon: it’s an ingredient that has taunted me in grocery stores for going on 15 years. It’s not a fruit or an ingredient that comes up in recipes or conversations very often. Indeed, the few people who mention it seem like they’re harkening back to a yesteryear … a time when the snows were man-deep and the the sun a blister on the sky.

It’s a strange fruit which sitting in the produce section looks like an oddly formed and sometimes blotchy tomato. But, yes, it is indeed a fruit (though so is a tomato …). A few months ago, looking for something new to test my palette, I finally took the bait and bought one … with no clue whatsoever as to what I was buying or how to select an appropriate one save one phrase that hung in my distant memory: “they are best when almost mush.” Well, I couldn’t find mush in the store, so I bought one that was ripe-looking and brought it home. A few days later I opened it up and with a deep breath, I cut into it and then took a bite of the seedless interior. What I discovered was a unique and very sweet taste, something between a mango, peach, apricot, and something entirely new. The texture is the hardest thing to describe, but it is lovely in its tooth feel. What I also discovered and then confirmed when I did some retrospective research is that when not fully ripe the fruit also has a very tannic astringency to it that leaves your mouth dry and puckered … not from a sourness, but rather like the tannins of empty grape skins. What I later learned is that when fully ripe and soft (not just ripe ‘looking’), this secondary ‘taste’ vanishes and you’re left with a sensuous and amazing fruit. What a shame I waited this long to discover it….

I learned also that persimmons are a late season fruit — they emerge just as some of the early orange varietals are starting to ripen. So before I even settled on making duck, I knew I was going to use persimmons in my cooking, soon, and while in season.

On their own, the persimmons were lovely, floral, and sweet but they lacked the acid to work with the duck, so I decided to work oranges back into the sauce, but staying true to the season, I opted for the symbolic mandarin orange — though clementines would work just as well. Working from the mandarin, I decided to build the sauce up as a kind of ‘asian’ influenced creation and so added in the ginger as well and complemented this with Chinese five-spice as a rub on the duck.

Cooking tips: the key with the duck breast is to crisp the skin and cook off the fat in it that would otherwise leave it unappealingly ‘chewy’ … and to do so without burning the breast and leaving it a beautiful medium-rare. The trick: slow frying, finishing it in the oven, and finally a bit of a rest before carving. Truly, while it might feel like you’re walking a culinary tightrope here, it’s an incredibly easy dish to prepare … once you trust the technique.

Prep time:   15 + 5 minutes
Cook time:  30 + 10 minutes
Rest time:   5 minutes
Total time:  60 minutes
Servings:    2-4

Crispy Duck with Persimmon-Mandarin Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

  • crispy_duck_persimmon ingredients1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 small shallot, minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely minced
  • zest of one mandarin orange
  • 2 mandarin oranges, peeled and segmented
  • 2 ripe persimmons, peeled and cored, and chopped
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • salt to taste

Crispy Duck:

  • 2 half-pound (250g) duck breasts with skin-on
  • avocoado (or peanut) oil
  • Chinese 5-Spice powder
  • Kosher Salt
  • Fresh ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC).
  2. Rinse the duck beasts under cold water and pat dry on a paper towel. Then, taking an extremely sharp knife carefully score the the duck skin on the diagonal, opening up the fat, but not so deep as to knick the meat. Keep your ‘lines’ about 1/4-inch (1-cm) apart. Repeat by scoring diagonally in the opposite direction so that you have ‘diamonds’ in the skin.
    Note: Opening up the skin like this is essential to allowing the skin to crisp as this will allow the fat to cook ‘off’ leaving it perfectly crisp.
    Tip: If you don’t have a sharp knife (and you should), you can achieve this with a razor blade.
    duck breastScoring the duck breast
  3. Lightly rub the the breast with avocado oil. This will just give the spices something to stick to but skip this if you want. If you do use oil, however, choose an oil with a high flash point and low flavour.Lightly season with salt and pepper and then sprinkle with Chinese 5 Spice powder on both sides of the breast. Set aside.
    Season the Duck Breasts
  4. Heat a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Melt in a tablespoon of butter and then add the shallots and fry for 3-5 minutes until slightly golden.
    Add shallots to panAdd the minced ginger and the mandarin zest and sauté for another 30 seconds.
    Add ginger and mandarin zestToss in the mandarin segments and the cubed persimmon.and the 1/2 cup of stock. Heat to a simmer and add in the honey and cider vinegar. Simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes to prevent burning.
    Add mandarin and persimmonOnce the fruit has cooked down into a ‘mash,’ use an immersion blender to puree the sauce. Alternatively, transfer to blender and emulsify until smooth — just be very careful of the blender lid exploding off and seriously burning you.
    Puree the Persimmon and Mandarin SauceContinue to cook for another 10 minutes, reducing it further. Add the the final two tablespoons of butter and melt it into the sauce. Add salt to taste.
    Add butter to the Persimmon and Mandarin SauceContinue to cook on low until duck is ready.
    Persimmon-Mandarin Sauce
  5. After you’ve pureed the sauce, begin the duck. Begin by taking a large pan with a heat-resistant handle (because it is going in the oven) and place the duck in it cold, skin-side down — I know starting meat cold in a pan is unconventional, but trust me.
    duck breast in panTurn the heat to medium and set your timer to 10 minutes. Once you hear the duck fat start to melt in about a minute, immediately reduce to medium-low (or a bit lower if you can) and continue cooking. After a few more minutes, the duck fat will start to well-up around the breast.
    Duck fat cooking off
    Carefully spoon this over the breast, basting it in the process. Now remove the excess fat with the spoon into a waiting stainless steel or glass container … so that you can save it for another time that you need duck fat (this stuff is gold, so don’t throw it away.)
  6. After 10 minutes, use a pair of tongs to check under the breast for ‘doneness.’ The breasts will have ‘puffed’ up in the process: this is normal. You want it a dark golden to slightly light-brown. If necessary, fry for another 2-5 minutes depending on doneness and your preferred outcome, however, don’t overcook or burn the skin.
    crispy_duck_persimmon16When ready, flip the breasts onto the meat-side and cook for another minute.
  7. Place the pan in the pre-heated oven and roast for 5 minutes (for medium-rare) or 6-7 minutes for medium to medium-well. Remove pan from oven and let the duck rest and cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
    Duck removed from oven
  8. Remove breasts to cutting board and cut them into roughly 1/2-inch (1-cm) medallions.
    Crispy Duck

    Duck cooked to medium-well

    Duck cooked to medium-well

    Duck cooked to medium-rare

    Duck cooked to medium-rare

    Spoon on the waiting persimmon-mandarin sauce and serve with your favourite sides.Duck with persimmon-mandarin sauce
    Crispy Duck with persimmon-mandarin sauce platedRecommended sides include: roasted brussel sprouts with balsamic-glaze and barley risotto with kale (recipes to follow)

Wine Pairing: An Oaked Chardonnay Reserve.

Share this:

  • Share
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Filed Under: Asian, Eats, Fusion, Gluten-Free, Mains, Poultry, Recipes Tagged With: barley risotto, Chinese 5 Spice, Cooking, crispy duck, dinner, Duck, duck à l'orange, duck breast, Fusion, mandarin, orange, persimmon, Recipe, roasted brussel sprouts with balsamic-glaze, sauce

« Pumpkin Pie Latte
“Discovery” (American Pale Ale), Renaissance Brewing Company »

Comments

  1. dalesdelectables says

    January 8, 2014 at 11:03 am

    Love me some duck magrets ! I often make them with a raspberry sauce, occasionally à l’orange but never thought of persimmon (like you, I was unfamiliar with it and hadn’t dared – till now!)

    Thanks for widening my horizons!

    Reply
    • Dale says

      January 8, 2014 at 12:22 pm

      My pleasure. It is great fun to explore new foods and bring them into the mainstream. The only other thing I should have noted is that the persimmon, when cooked, will do the same thing as an orange, and that is lose some of it’s vibrant ‘orange’ colouring as it becomes a more muted yellow. Note: I have another persimmon recipe that will post on Friday … just in time for weekend fun. 🙂

      Reply
      • dalesdelectables says

        January 8, 2014 at 1:32 pm

        Most foods that are cooked for more than a blanch tend to lose their colouring, unfortunately. Still looks pretty vibrant on the pic!

        Reply
  2. gfandme says

    January 2, 2014 at 11:50 am

    Oh wow! So many recipes so little time! I too always order duck if it’s on the menu … I can never figure out why it’s not offered more often.

    Reply
    • Dale says

      January 2, 2014 at 4:58 pm

      A good question. I presume it’s the same reason more people order chicken breasts rather than thighs. People seem freaked out by ‘dark’ meat and the flavour …. All the more reason to make it more regularly at home. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Rörschåch says

    December 31, 2013 at 4:39 pm

    Dale, this post made me happy many times over: duck, persimmons, telling people how to eat them, crispy skin. Yum, yum, yum. Happy New Year!

    Reply
    • Dale says

      December 31, 2013 at 11:50 pm

      Thank you Janet. A big smile back to you for that comment. I’m thinking you’re a woman that knows both her duck and persimmons, so that means a lot. I’m glad I hit a wonderful sweet spot …. Happy new year to you as well! It’s going to be great.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Persimmon Parfait with Mascarpone-Cream and Gingersnap Crumble says:
    December 15, 2014 at 9:35 pm

    […] inspired by the success of my previous work with them in my Crispy Duck with Persimmon-Mandarin Sauce, I moved from the main course to almost everyone’s favourite course, the dessert […]

    Reply

I would love to read your comments ....Cancel reply

30 Poems in 30 Days – Global Poetry Writing Month (2022)

  • A Love Song

    A Love Song
  • Chosen

    Chosen
  • Wormwood

    Wormwood
  • Bashert

    Bashert
  • Lumber Dog

    Lumber Dog
  • Aisling for the Land

    Aisling for the Land
  • Hard Boiled Boy

    Hard Boiled Boy
  • The Blasted

    The Blasted
  • Sense of Time

    Sense of Time
  • We Reflect

    We Reflect
  • A Family Grown

    A Family Grown
  • Fly — Away

    Fly — Away
  • Curtains

    Curtains
  • A Question Heard

    A Question Heard
  • The Storm

    The Storm
  • A Dis-Ode to the Mushoom

    A Dis-Ode to the Mushoom
  • Bun in the Oven

    Bun in the Oven
  • The world don’t owe you nothing

    The world don’t owe you nothing
  • the syrphid

    the syrphid
  • Osborne

    Osborne
  • Love is not a Word

    Love is not a Word
  • Meta

    Meta
  • Super-Pop

    Super-Pop
  • footprints on the sands of time

    footprints on the sands of time
  • Spring Grows

    Spring Grows
  • Neptune’s Recline

    Neptune’s Recline
  • Red Light, Green Light, Stop

    Red Light, Green Light, Stop
  • Wuthering Heights

    Wuthering Heights
  • Afterwinter

    Afterwinter
  • The Story of a Dog

    The Story of a Dog

Recent Posts

  • A Love Song
  • Chosen
  • Wormwood
  • Bashert
  • Lumber Dog

Join My Community

Simply enter your email address and never miss another post.

Join 827 other subscribers

2012-2022 © Dale Schierbeck.

All rights reserved. All material and content is the original property of Dale Schierbeck and “EatsWritesShoots” 2022. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without expressed and written permission from this blog’s author and owner is strictly prohibited. Links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author (“Dale Schierbeck”) and the site (“EatsWritesShoots”) and with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Connect with Me on Facebook

Connect with Me on Facebook

Top Posts & Pages

  • Recipe for Low-Phosphorus Dog Food ~ Caring for a Dog with Chronic Renal Failure
  • My Canadian Eyesight
  • Adjustments
  • The "Benjamin" Project
  • Homemade Super Dog Food ... aka Ben's Breakfast

Join the Conversation

  • mb on Ben ~ In Memoriam
  • Dale on Ground Beef Tacos
  • Nicholas Robert Parkes on Ground Beef Tacos
  • Molly on Recipe for Low-Phosphorus Dog Food ~ Caring for a Dog with Chronic Renal Failure
  • Dale on Chosen

RSS Feeds

RSS feed RSS - Posts

RSS feed RSS - Comments

Archives

Categories

Copyright © 2025 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d