Spiced Pear Duck Breast Halves or Thighs [or stove]
Comments: Excellent served along with mashed potatoes and green vegetables.
Golden pears are added at the end of cooking time, along with pine nuts and garlic paste to give more taste and thicken the sauce.
It really is important to use a high quality broth for this recipe.
*Buy 1 large duck and 2 breasts to get generous servings; cut the duck yourself into parts reserving duck giblets and carcass for the broth. If deseried, you could also buy already cut duck parts and use a really tasty cicken broth.
Servings: 6
IngredientsPreparation
  • 3 tablespoons [45 mL] olive oil
  • 6 duck breast halves and/or thighs with drumsticks
  • 1 large oinon, into thin slices
  • 1 cinnamon stick, halved
  • 2 thyme sprigs
  • 2 cups [500 mL] duck or chicken broth*
  • 3 firm ripe pears
  • 2 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 1/3 cup [80 mL] pine nuts
  • 1/2 teaspoon [2.5 mL] saffron threads
  • 2 tablespoons [30 mL] raisins
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Thyme or parsley sprigs, to garnish
  • Preheat barbecue to high intensity.
  • Either coat duck parts with 1 tablespoon [15 mL] of olive oil then brown on all sides onto hot barbecue rack for approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or heat the 1 tablespoon [15 mL] of olive oil into a frypan to brown duck parts.
  • Transfer duck parts into a flame-proof cooking dish.
  • Lower barbecue heat to low intensity.
  • If duck parts have been fried into a frypan, drain cooking fat reserving only 1 tablespoon [15 mL] fat into the frypan.
  • Fry onions slices into hot fat into frypan for approximately 5 minutes, until golden.
  • Add cinnamon stick halves and thyme sprigs; pour in duck or chicken broth and bring to a boil.
  • Pour this mixture all over duck parts into cooking dish; barbecue onto barbecue rack over low heat for approximately 75 minutes.
  • Towards the end, peel then half pears lengthwise.
  • Core, peel then coat pear halves with remaining 2 tablespoons [30 mL] olive oil.
  • Brown pear halves onto barbecue rack, or into a frypan.
  • Using a pestle, crush together garlic slices, pine nuts and saffron thread into a thick smooth paste.
  • Remove cinnamon stick pieces and thyme sprigs from duck mixture.
  • Add garlic/saffron paste, raisins and pear halves to duck pieces in cooking dish.
  • Barbecue for approximately 15 minutes, to soften pear halves.
  • Sprinkle to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper; serve, garnishe with thyme or parsley sprigs.