Duck breasts with redcurrant & onion relish

Duck breasts with redcurrant & onion relish

A simple homemade relish really makes this dish really special, complementing the duck to perfection

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 - 15 mins

Cook time

Cook 25 - 30 mins

Method

  1. Gently fry the onion, apple, garlic, ginger and chilli, if using, in a pan with the oil for about 10 mins until softened. Pour in the vinegar and bubble down until reduced by half. Add 100ml water and sugar to taste. Cook until reduced by two thirds and thickened. Stir in the redcurrants and balsamic vinegar, and cook for another 5 mins. The relish can be made up to a week ahead and stored in the fridge.
  2. Using a sharp knife, slash the fat of the duck breasts in a criss-cross, cutting almost through to the flesh. Rub the skin with salt and five-spice powder.
  3. Heat a heavy-based frying pan, until you can feel a gentle heat, then place the duck, skin-side down. Cook for 5 mins on a low to medium heat until the fat begin to melt. Spoon over the duck and season.
  4. When the skin begins to brown and crisp, after about another 2 mins, tip out the excess fat. Flip over the breasts and cook for another 5 mins on the flesh side. This will give you medium-rare duck. If you prefer well done, cook for a further 3 mins or so. Remove from the heat, allow to stand for 5 mins then slice diagonally. Serve with watercress salad and the relish.

Per serving

435 kcalories, protein 23g, carbohydrate 17g, fat 31 g, saturated fat 8g, fibre 2g, sugar 9.3g, salt 1.02 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, September 2005.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • 30 March 2008

    goodies commented on this recipe

    easy and delicious. I used redcurrant jelly instead of the redcurrants, which seemed to work really well. chris mac

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  • 08 April 2008

    jennie's commented on this recipe

    My daughter made this for me on Mother's Day but used cranberries instead of redcurrants, it was truly delicious!

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  • Binder photo EGJ

    25 April 2008

    EGJ rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Couldn't get redcurrants so used redcurrant jelly instead. My husband rated it 10 out of 10 which is the first time he has rated a new recipe so highly. Will definitely do it again with double the amount of relish so that there will (hopefully) be some left over for serving with other meats.

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  • 09 July 2008

    jaqm commented on this recipe

    This was such an easy but delicious dish. My hubby said it was the best duck dish he'd had. Will definitely do again. Think I'd make the relish a day ahead as it tasted delicious cold on a sandwich

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  • 07 October 2008

    irishcountry-cousin rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I used the duck fat to fry up some par boiled, sliced potatoes. I also used red currant jelly.

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  • 22 November 2008

    Tilly rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Turned out very well... I used frozen cranberries instead of red currants, saved the duck fat for roast potatoes.

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  • 18 January 2009

    Jean rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    My husband cooked this for us last night. He couldn't get red currants so used blueberries instead. The result was delicious. We will use this recipe again and again. Especially the relish with other recipes.

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  • 05 August 2010

    MrsWife commented on this recipe

    This was absolutely gorgeous. I used redcurrant jelly for the relish as I had some already and it worked really well. Had it with Dauphinoise potatoes, which went down a treat

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  • 16 September 2011

    Jules commented on this recipe

    I cooked this last night and it went down a treat. My only criticism was that the skin didn't go nice & crispy. Everything else was so tasty. I used redcurrant jelly instead of fresh which did make the relish a little sloppy. Will definitely use this recipe again.

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  • 16 September 2011

    Jules rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Forgot to rate the recipe with stars, 5 star in my opinion. So very easy to make & so tasty

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  • 10 February 2012

    erinsdaddy rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    superb dish,the relish disappeared in no time at all...should have doubled the amount!

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  • 10 February 2012

    Gareb commented on this recipe

    Beautiful! Like others I used redcurrant jelly. Also had no red wine vinegar so mixed some additional balsamic vinegar with port and the relish was lovely! Unlike others I found the timings perfect for medium rare. Yum, will definitely make again.

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  • 10 February 2012

    Gareb rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Forgot to rate :-)

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  • 21 May 2012

    MRLeary rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    This was delicious! I couldn't get any packs of redcurrants or cranberries so used a pack of frozen summer fruits.The sharpness of the chutney complemented the duck very nicely.

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  • 10 June 2013

    nicT rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    will do again... the duck breast was nice and moist and the relish was gorgeous...I didnt have any red wine vinegar so I used an apple and cranberry balsamic... gorgeous

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 - 15 mins

Cook time

Cook 25 - 30 mins

Easy dinner party dish

Ingredients

  • 4 duck breasts (about 140g/ 5oz each)
  • pinch Chinese five-spice powder

FOR THE RELISH

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Per serving

435 kcalories, protein 23g, carbohydrate 17g, fat 31 g, saturated fat 8g, fibre 2g, sugar 9.3g, salt 1.02 g

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