Duck breasts

Gordon Ramsay recipes Duck breast with cherry and port sauce and mashed potato recipe

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Date Published:
09/01/2008

Add this feather to your culinary bow with Gordon Ramsay's duck main from Cookalong Live.

Watch Gordon's video on how to render and cook duck breasts

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 4 duck breasts, about 225g each, skin on (Barbary preferably)
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

For the mashed potatoes

  • 800g medium floury potatoes (e.g. Maris Piper), peeled and quartered

For the sauce

  • 200ml port
  • 200ml chicken stock
  • Few sprigs of thyme
  • 50g dried cherries
  • 20g cold butter, cut into cubes

For the pak choi

  • 2 x pak choi bulbs, leaves separated and washed
  • 2 x garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce

Method: How to make duck breasts with dried cherry and port sauce and mashed potatoes

1. Place the peeled and chopped potatoes in a pan of cold water. Season with salt and cook with the lid on for 12-14 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Drain, and return briefly to the heat to dry them out. Mash the potatoes with a generous measure of olive oil - anywhere from 1-2 tablespoons, depending on the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm until ready to serve.

2. Sprinkle the duck breasts with salt and pepper and rub all over. Place a large frying pan over medium heat and add the duck breasts, skin side down. Fry for 4-5 minutes until most of the fat from under the skin has rendered down and the skin is golden brown. Turn the duck over and lightly brown the other side. Remove the duck from the pan and keep warm.

3. To make the sauce, drain any excess fat from the duck pan and deglaze with the port – allow to bubble for 30 seconds to remove the alcohol. Add the duck back into the pan with the cherries and thyme. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Lower the heat to simmering point and allow the sauce to bubble away until the mixture is reduced to a third. Remember to turn the duck occasionally to ensure it cooks evenly. Add the cold butter and shake the pan until the butter has melted and the sauce has thickened slightly. Remove from the heat, take the duck out to rest for approximately 3 minutes.

4. Place all the pak choi leaves in a large bowl (cut any large ones into half lengthways) and drizzle with olive oil, soy sauce and a grinding of pepper. Crush in the garlic and toss together in the bowl with the other ingredients.

5. Heat a separate frying pan until hot and sauté the pak choi for 1-2 minutes, until just wilted.

6. Divide the pak choi among warm serving plates. Carve the duck breasts into three slices and arrange over the pak choi. Spoon the port and cherry sauce over and serve the mashed potatoes alongside.

Watch Gordon's video on how to render and cook duck breasts

Watch all Gordon's Cookalong training videos.

Get the rest of the recipes on the Cookalong week 3 menu.

Not quite the duck you were looking for? Try these:
Roast duck with orange sauce
Blackened five spice duck
Duck with fig and mint couscous
Gordon's Gressingham duck with Madeira
Gordon's honey-roasted duck

Most popular Gordon Ramsay recipes:
Gordon's vegetable curry
Gordon's lasagne
Gordon's macaroni cheese
Gordon's shepherd's pie
Prawn cocktail

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Comments

  1. Always watch Gordon no matter what he's cooking. Will try to follow his recipes that I have printed off.I cook for myself and my invalid wife and variety is hard to come by. Agree with Jane about printing the recipes.
    Posted by Jack Crew on 29/08/2009 04:15:02
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  2. Made this dish last night for 9 persons. Recipe is foolproof and easy to follow. Used Goose breasts instead of Duck and replaced Pak Choi with Iceberg lettuce and finely chopped fresh fennel which I fried in olive oil for 5 miutes. Arranged serving plate with mash in middle of plate, followed by lettuce/fennel/garlic on top followed by breast and sauce on top of that again. Dish was superb and loved by all. Thanks Gordon!
    Posted by Jan P. on 03/01/2009 15:28:30
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  3. quick and easy - the cherries really add a nice touch
    Posted by T-Diddy on 21/12/2008 12:12:31
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  4. Have cooked this several times now but last time I used chicken steaks wrapped in abcon as I had no duck. Fantastic yet again. Gordon you make my cooking seem great!
    Posted by Jan on 18/11/2008 17:57:30
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  5. Hi, love the programme! Can the receipes be easier to print off as having to print over two pages for some of them and don't really need all the other stuff with it!
    Posted by Jane on 18/11/2008 12:57:05
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  6. Fabulous with chicken - wasnt keen on duck so determined not to miss out we subsituted it with chicken breasts - delicious!!! Thanks Gordon for a great evening
    Posted by debz on 14/11/2008 14:31:00
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  7. WOW that was amazing. The duck was beautiful and the sauce truly inspirational. So easy to make, quick and delicious.
    Posted by PCA on 13/11/2008 09:49:24
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  8. There was a veggie alternative this week, any chance that can be published and we can have one every week?
    Posted by Julie on 10/11/2008 16:25:27
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  9. Hey, trying this recipe 2moro but ... number 3. doesn't say how long to cook the duck in the sauce (it only states until the sauce reduces by a third) anyone done this that can give me an estimated cooking time? Thanks
    Posted by andie on 08/11/2008 21:18:15
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  10. couldnt get dried cherries so used dry cranberry, v nice
    Posted by belinda on 08/11/2008 19:31:38
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  11. ----hey Gordon, how about a meal on a budget??? Posted by jon lvs bev on 07/11/2008 21:04:29------ That would have been last weeks...........
    Posted by Peter on 07/11/2008 22:23:12
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  12. great tv the only one that keeps the wife quite
    Posted by brian oakley on 07/11/2008 22:09:41
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  13. our duck isnt cooked right??? we followed everything by the book.
    Posted by jon lvs bev on 07/11/2008 21:57:51
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  14. hey Gordon, how about a meal on a budget???
    Posted by jon lvs bev on 07/11/2008 21:04:29
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  15. How bizarre. For dinner tonite I cooked myself duck breast with pak choi, but had no idea that was on the menu for tonite's cookalong. Straight up!
    Posted by Tim on 07/11/2008 19:58:42
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  16. Im excited for the cook off tonight!!!
    Posted by csor87 on 07/11/2008 12:21:46
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