Seaberries & Duck

 In our blog archive, July 2010, Tim & Sally Eller provided a recipe for Roasted Cod with Chanterelles and Seaberries.

Created by CSA member Tim Eller:

Seared Duck Breast with sea berry sauce

Sea berries are a chef’s challenge.  They are extremely astringent, but also very flavorful.  Also unusual enough that it is hard to find reasonable sounding recipes.  Here is my second attempt at a solution.  It is very loosely based on duck la orange.  It really works.  Serve on warm plates, with a spoon to scoop up the sauce.

4 duck breast fillets, skin on

½ pint of fresh Daring Drake sea berries

2 tbs maple syrup

2 tbs Daring Drake plum jam

Sprig of thyme (or ½ tsp dried)

1 cup of chicken stock (or veal, or duck, or Thai)

2 tsp soy sauce

2 tbs butter

Pinch of salt

1 tsp arrowroot starch

1. Zap the sea berries in a blender, briefly.  Run the result through a fine sieve, pressing the pulp to recover as much of the juice as possible.
2. Preheat oven to 175. 
3. Simmer the sea berry juice, maple syrup, plum jam, thyme, and stock for about 30 minutes, until starting to thicken.  Add salt and soy sauce.  Swirl in cold butter.  Set aside.
4. Sear duck breast in hot sauté pan (hopefully a non-stick pan).  Sear skin side first, for 5 to 7 minutes, without moving.  Flip and sear other side for 1 or 2 minutes.
5. Move duck beast to a warm plate, and put in 175 degree oven for about one hour.
6. The duck will exude a lot of juice.  When it’s nearly done (instant thermometer in thickest part reading 135), pour off the juice and add it to the sauce.  Bring to a slow simmer.  Mix the arrowroot with a little cold water, and rapidly stir it into the sauce. 
7. When duck is ready, slice on the diagonal, dress with lots of sauce, and serve.