A Blackberry and A Duck Got Together

Things have been looking up this past week which has been nice.  Still waiting for my husband’s car to be fixed but hopefully that will be within the week.  Our seedlings are growing like crazy and we’re back to looking like we live in a jungle.  It will ease once the weather warms which can happen any time now as I’m tired of wearing snowpants!  It’s a formal protest now as it shouldn’t be this cold this far into March!  I’m wondering when the lamb part will show up.

Despite all the craziness I did want to cook a nice meal and I found a pin on pinterest that was for a blackberry sauce for duck.  Ooh, I thought, this looks wonderful.  Until I clicked on it and all it was about was an article about wine.  Now normally I am more than happy to learn about wine but I was looking for food!  So it was time to get creative and come up with something myself.  Given that I have a food blog I should be able to do that!

Pre-heat the oven to 375F/190C

In a baking dish place the duck legs with the skin scored into the pan.  If you have duck breast or a full duck this will work as well.  Our duck legs were frozen so they are a bit funny shaped at first.  In the dish I drizzled a bit of olive oil and about a 1/4 cup of white balsamic vinegar.  Season with salt and pepper and a couple of sprigs of rosemary.  Roast uncovered until cooked about medium.

Blackberry duck 1 2014

While the duck is roasting chop up 1/2-3/4 cup onions and saute in olive oil.  Once they are softened add about a cup of blackberries.  Bring to a simmer with 1/2 cup water and 1/8 cup of white balsamic vinegar.

Blackberry duck 2 2014

As the blackberries soften and cook down add a few teaspoons of freshly grated ginger.  Season with salt and pepper.

Blackberry duck 3 2014

Once the duck is done remove from the oven and let rest.  Add a few tablespoons of the duck fat and juices from the baking dish to the sauce.  Simmer for a few minutes to reduce.  Then spoon over the duck and serve.

Blackberry duck 4 2014

The tartness was a great pairing with the richness of the duck.  I kept the sauce rustic but as the blackberries had dehydrated a bit the seeds were tough.  If you aren’t a fan of the seeds the sauce can be strained.

12 thoughts on “A Blackberry and A Duck Got Together

  1. Aww, this brings back memories. The first fancy dinner my husband (then-boyfriend) and I made together was Blackberry Chicken. Now that we’re not poor college students, we may be able to do a duck!

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