Ingredients

  • 2 Gressingham duck breasts
  • 1 long shallot, peeled and finely sliced
  • Handful of fresh cherries, pitted
  • 50ml good port
  • 100ml rich chicken stock
  • 1 tbsp runny honey
  • 1 sprig of fresh thyme

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 200°c or 180°c fan. Dry the duck breasts well on kitchen paper. Lightly score the skin with a sharp knife six to eight times along the duck breast (to help the fat render out and flavour the meat). Season well with salt and pepper.
  2. Lay the duck breasts skin-side down into a cold, unoiled frying pan. Cook over a low-medium heat for about 6 to 8 minutes until the skin is golden and crispy (while regularly draining off any fat carefully into a bowl). Turn the duck breasts over to seal the meat side for 30 seconds and then transfer them to a roasting tray (keep the frying pan for later).
  3. Cook the duck in the oven for 10 to 20 minutes (depending on how well done you like it). Transfer the duck to a hot plate and rest somewhere warm for 10 minutes while you prepare the sauce.
  4. Heat up the frying pan with a little of the duck fat over a medium heat. Add the shallot and cherries, stir frying them until softened. Add the remaining ingredients and turn up the heat to full, boiling the pan’s contents until the liquid becomes thickened and syrupy, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing sticks to the pan.
  5. Carve the duck thickly and serve glazed with the cherries and the sauce.