Our store finally had duck! The kids had been asking for it for awhile now but I couldn’t find it so they were very excited when I came home with one. I wanted to do something a bit different than the usual roast duck with roasted potatoes and we had some andouille sausage to use up. It has some kick to it but our kids seem to do ok with a bit of heat so I figured it would be worth a try.
First I had to butcher the duck. Since I only needed one breast, everything else gets frozen for later. Including the bones so I can make stock like this turkey stock.
In a small skillet I put a bit of olive oil and got it nice and hot. I seasoned the duck breast with salt and pepper on both sides then put the breast skin down in the oil.
I kept the heat up for a couple of minutes to sear the skin then I turned it down to render the fat. This takes several minutes depending on how much fat you want to render. Once it is rendered enough I turned the duck over to sear the meat side for a couple of minutes.
I like to make sure all sides are seared before removing.
This gets set aside in a warm spot to rest while I make the rest of the dish. Because there is a lot of fat that gets rendered out I save some fat for later use. Otherwise this would be a very fatty greasy dish!
While the duck was searing I prepped the rest of the ingredients. I chopped mushrooms, onion, garlic, and the andouille sausage.
This all gets tossed into the skillet with the duck fat and sauteed. Once this heats through I added a cup of turkey stock. Turns out I was out of duck stock! As it comes up to a simmer I added some frozen peppers from last year’s garden. I also chopped a tomato and some cilantro and added those to the dish. I also added a few splashes of lime juice to brighten the dish and a bit of creole seasoning.
While this was simmering I sliced the duck. As you can see it is still a bit rare which is good because it gets added to the dish and you don’t want the duck overcooked.
Let it simmer for a few minutes then serve over rice. I did rice pilaf for this dish.
The kids loved it. Though our son’s face was a picture when the spice hit the back of the throat! But he said he loved the flavours and how they are layered. Not bad for an 8 year old. 😉
On a side note. I’ve noticed that I’ll get a note on my phone of a comment left for me but when I go look for it to reply I can’t find it. If I don’t respond to a comment it is because I can’t see it to say anything. I hope I can get this sorted because I like the conversations!
What a nice sauce and I am absolutely drooling over those duck slices!
Thank you. 🙂 Duck is such a great protein, just wish I could get it more often.
YUM! the duck breast looks delicious and andouille is one of my favorite sausages…I am convinced it was delightful together 😉
It was. :). A case of using what was in front of me. 🙂
Clever gal! Looks like you cooked that duck to perfection. mmmmm Would love to try but I can’t imagine how much duck would cost in our grocery store, tho. :/
I make sure I use the whole duck! 🙂
Yum…That looks delicious! By the way, I just nominated you for an award:)
Thank you very much. 🙂
You’re welcome, I love your Blog! 🙂
That’s appreciated!
Lovely dish. The duck was cooked perfectly. By the way, I am suffering the same problem with comments. Another WordPress improvement…. They will see sense and put it back the way it was at some stage.
Gee I hope so! Drives me crazy when sites try to “improve” and don’t.
And thank you for the lovely compliment on the duck. 🙂
Sounds wonderful. Haven’t had duck in ages. The last time was with spices. I’ve never cooked it like this before. And would love to give this a try.
What spices did you use? I’m always looking for new recipes for duck.
I did this recip only once, and I’ve been meaning to overview this. I really enjoyed it at the time. Only suitable for the legs that you have in the freezer.
http://feedthepiglet.wordpress.com/2012/04/29/duck-legs-rhubarb-and-spices/
Is rhubarb coming into season?
This looks fabulous. We grow rhubarb but we have a few months before we can eat it. So I’ve saved this recipe as I have a few duck legs in the freezer as well.
Oh, I love duck! And I love Andouille sausage! I must have this.
I hope you do. 🙂
Your dish sounds terrific…like something is might find in an upscale restaurant.
Thanks! That’s a lovely thing to say. 🙂
I m salivating! Absolutely beautiful! I have to order duck online…
Never thought of doing that. Would love to find a local source.
That is a beautiful thing. I had both duck and andouille sausage (separately) in New Orleans. Always delicious.
Luck I had both proteins at the same time! Would love to go New Orleans.
This duck recipe makes my mouth water. I don’t think I am ready to take up the challenge to cook duck yet. Can you FedEx some over 🙂
LOL, duck is actually easy to cook! Because you don’t have to worry about it being completely cooked like chicken you have a bit of leeway. Give it a go, I bet you’ll be surprised.
Maybe because I can’t get fresh ones over here. It’s easy to get that ‘smell’ if I did not cook it good. But I should try it again. Thank you.
Can you get them frozen? That’s usually how I have to get mine.
This looks incredible!
Thank you. 🙂
This is incredible. I haven’t eaten or cooked duck in a long time. This looks perfect! I have never eaten Andouille sausage! It all sounds and looks delicious 🙂
Andouille sausage is delicious but it can have a bit of a kick to it. 🙂
Lovely. Thanks for adding it to the “ducky” collection. Have a great weekend. Cheers
Thank you, you too! 🙂