Recipe: (Italy) Duck with Tangerine Sauce

Winner of the James Beard/ KitchenAid Cookbook of the Year 2000 and Winner of the Beard Award for the Best Writing on Food 2000.

September 30, 2023

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Duck with Tangerine Sauce
Region: Italy
Category: Fowl
Season: Fall
Difficulty: Medium Difficulty

Duck is usually and unfortunately sold frozen whole. But occasionally my supermarket will have a defrosted one and then I ask them to cut it up so I can make this luscious dish. It's a shame ducks aren't marketed regularly de-boned, filleted, and de-fatted, because doing it yourself takes time. Many people shy away from duck because of fat. But that is easy to take care of-- ask the butcher to remove it or do it yourself-- just pull, cut and scrape the fat out both before and after you cook it. The duck can be replaced with chicken or turkey thighs. Save the bones, wings, and gizzard for making stock or soup. Duck is excellent with Carrots with Marsala.

[photo: Clifford A. Wright]

Yield: Makes 4 servings
Preparation Time: 25 minutes

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 tangerine, peel without any white pith, very finely julienned and 1/4 cup juice

One 5-pound duck, cut in 2 breasts and 2 thigh and leg pieces, fat and skin removed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup dry Marsala wine

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint

1. In a small skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat, then cook the julienned tangerine peel for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium-size skillet, melt another 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat, then cook the duck leg and thigh meat until light golden, turning often, about 4 minutes. Add the duck breasts to the skillet, season with salt and pepper, and cook until golden, turning often, about 4 minutes. Pour in the tangerine juice and Marsala wine and after 1 minute add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and reduce it for another 2 minutes or so until it looks like a thin gravy. Pour off excess duck fat.

3. Sprinkle the tangerine peel and mint into the sauce and continue cooking for 3 minutes, or less if the sauce has reduced too much. Serve immediately.

Variation:

Note:

Posted: 12/14/2006

Duck Breast with Pomegranates and Marsala

Referenced Recipes:

Carrots with Marsala

Real Stew is an extraordinary cookbook! Clifford Wright has brought 300 classic one-pot meals from all around the world home to our kitchens. His stews are hearty and delicious– my whole family loves them, and your will too.
- Mark Strausman, chef/owner of Campagna restaurant and author of The Campagna Table

Clifford Wright is a versatile fellow. He won the James Beard Foundation’s top cookbook award a couple of years ago for his historical opus, “A Mediterranean Feast.” But he also wrote one of my favorite quick cookbooks, “Cucina Rapida.” In his newest book [Real Stew], Wright calls upon his scholarly credentials and his practical side to produce a collection of classic stews from around the world. The introductory notes for each of the 300 stews reflect Wright’s knowledge of history and world cuisines. But the recipes themselves — from Nantucket Scallop Stew to French Cassoulet to Kenyan Chicken and Coconut Stew — are straightforward and appealing.
- Margaret King, San Diego Union-Tribune

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