Oak Smoked Breast Of Duck With Port Wine Reduction

This is another wonderful recipe that was served to us at the indian pueblo cultural center in albuquerque. richard hetzler, who is the executive chef at the mitsitam cafe in the national museum of the american indian in washington, d.c. Prepared this dish. what an honor and a treat to have such a master in the house. i loved the smoky flavor of this dish. richard says not to over smoke it and the middle of the duck should be pink. you will need 1/4 pound of oak wood chips for this recipe. I noticed that he used both dry and wet chips for this recipe. he said that soaking the chips is done to maintain a longer smoke. Zaar wouldn't let me say 2 duck breasts, so i repeated it twice. please note: i didn't include the cooking time for the port wine reduction in this recipe. you could probably prepare it ahead of time as long as you keep it warm.

Steps

For the duck:.

Soak the wood chips in water for about 1 hour.

Season the duck breasts with salt and pepper and sear in a hot pan skin side down on medium low heat for 10-12 minutes to render the fat from the skin.

Remove from the pan and place in the smoker with the dried chips and soaked chips and smoke at 350f for 5-7 minutes for medium rare.

Remove and let the duck rest for 3-5 minutes before serving.

For the port wine reduction:.

In a medium size sauce pan , place shallots , currents and port wine on medium high heat.

Reduce the wine to 1 / 2-3 / 4 until thickened.

Removed from heat and reserve.

Keep warm and serve over the duck.

Bon appetit !.

Ingredients

duck breast, port wine, dried currant, shallot