MANILA, Philippines — Celebrity Chef Sau Del Rosario is so experienced in his craft that he works wonders on any type of meat, but duck breast is one of his favorite meats to work with because it is not so common and his creativity shines through all the time.
Chef Sau collaborated with the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council, combined U.S. Blueberries and duck breast, and came up with another winner: U.S. Blueberry Lacquered Duck Breast, Curried Lentils, and Five Spice U.S. Blueberry Sauce.
It requires a bit advanced cooking skills to replicate, but it’s so good you should really give it a shot.
U.S. Blueberry Lacquered Duck Breast, Curried Lentils, and Five Spice U.S. Blueberry Sauce
Ingredients:
For the duck confit:
1 pc. U.S. duck breast
Olive oil
3 pcs. garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
2 pcs. shallots, peeled and sliced
1 sprig rosemary
2-3 sprigs thyme
Some freshly ground black pepper
For the sauce:
Juice from the duck
Blueberry purée
1 tbsp. shoyu (Japanese style soy sauce)
250 ml. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. five-spice powder
1 tbsp. butter
50 grams mixed lettuce
Salt and pepper, to taste
For the glaze:
1/2 cup U.S. Frozen Blueberries
1/3 cup maple syrup
Procedure:
1. Prepare the duck confit. Place the duck breast and all other ingredients for the duck confit in a vacuum pouch and lock. Cook sous-vide for 2 hours at 55°C. Set aside.
2. For the glaze, process U.S. blueberries in a blender and strain. Mix half of the blueberry purée and maple syrup. Set aside.
3. Open the sous-vide pouch, take out the duck breast, and let it dry for an hour. Keep the juice from the pouch.
4. After drying the duck, brush it with the blueberry-maple mixture. Torch or gratinate using a salamander to create a lacquered finish. When it turns golden brown, rest the meat for a few minutes to get it ready for slicing.
5. To make the sauce, pour the duck juice from the pouch into a saucepan. Add one-third of the blueberry purée and simmer until slightly reduced. Season with five-spice seasoning, salt and pepper. Add 1 tbsp. butter to finish the sauce.
6. To make the dressing, add the remaining 1/3 blueberry purée to 100 ml. extra virgin olive oil and 1 tsp. of shoyu. Season with salt and pepper.
7. For the salad, toss greens with dressing and garnish with edible flowers.
8. To finish, slice the duck breast, garnish with the salad, and pour sauce over the duck.
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