Yield 4 servings
4 ea Duck Breast, 5-6 oz
2 T Duck fat or bacon fat
2 T Olive oil
2 T shallots, minced
1 cup ripe cherries, pitted halves
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup water
1 cup chicken stock
2 T butter, room temperature
¼ cup sugar
1 T fresh ginger, grated
1 ea cinnamon stick, whole
2 ea Star Anise, whole, optional
2 oz Sherry
Salt and Pepper
Start with the duck breast by patting dry with paper towel and scoring the skin carefully not to go through the meat by cutting diagonally. Let it sit in room temperature for about 30 minutes. When ready, season with salt and pepper. Do not preheat your cast iron pan. Using duck fat or bacon fat, oil the pan and place your duck breast skin side down. Turn the flame to medium heat. This will allow you to cook the skin and render the fat slowly giving you a nice crispy result. This will take about 7-8 minutes. Do not touch until it is time. Turn over breast and continue cooking for another 4-5 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 125. Remove from heat and transfer to a cutting board. Let it rest for additional 10 minutes, allowing the meat to go up a few more degrees to around 130 internal temperature. This will be a perfect medium rare.
For the sauce: Heat Olive oil, medium heat in a saucepan, once ready saute shallots until translucent. Add vinegar, chicken stock, water, sugar, cinnamon stick, star anise. Let it reduce by half, about 5 minutes. To this, add cherries and fresh ginger, turn down to a simmer for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Once its ready, remove from the heat, add butter and sherry. Before serving, remove cinnamon stick and star anise from the sauce. Slice the duck breast and serve with the sauce on top. Enjoy!