Recipe - Duck breast with plum sauce and pickled sansho peppers

Serves 4 

Ingredients 

4 duck breasts
Pickled sansho peppers  

For stock 

1kg of chicken bones 
1 carrot 
1 brown onion 
1 head of garlic 
1cm piece of ginger 

Sauce base 

500ml Umeshu (plum wine) 
500ml red wine 
Small tomato, roughly chopped 

 
Step 1 - Making your stock 

Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees. Place chicken bones, onion, carrot, ginger, garlic (cut the head in half) and until nice and golden. This is what will give your stock that delicious rich flavour. Place everything into a pot, cover with water and bring up to a simmer.  

Allow to simmer for 3 hours skimming any impurities from the chicken bones that float to the surface, this will ensure the stock is clear. After 3 hours, strain stock and remove all solids then return the stock to a clean pot and continue to reduce by 2/3.  

Step 2 – Making the sauce  

Chop tenderloin and any other duck trimmings into small pieces in a pot brown over medium heat until golden. Add Umeshu and red wine and bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer. Allow 15-20 minutes to reduce by 3/4 and burn off the alcohol. Add stock and continue to simmer and reduce by 10%. Taste and continue to simmer if you feel the sauce needs to be richer.  

Strain and remove solids and leave aside to cool until it’s time to serve. 

Umeshu is a fantastic liqueur to have after dinner as well so don’t worry if you have any left over. 

Step 3 – Cooking the duck 

While your stock is cooking remove tenderloin from duck breasts. Turnover and trim fat and then score through making sure not to cut too deep. Put the trimmings aside for the sauce. 

We always recommend cooking over charcoal, otherwise a frying pan is suitable. 

Let your duck stand for 15 minutes before cooking skin side down over a medium high heat for around 5 mins then flipping over and cooking for a further 5 mins. Remove from the pan and allow to rest for 5 minutes.  

Step 4 – Plating up  

While your duck is resting, you can reheat and complete your sauce. Add 200ml of the sauce to a pot and bring to a simmer adding a further 20ml of Umeshu and 20g of salted plum paste if you have any. While simmering, whisk well and be sure to taste for further seasoning. 

Gently carve your duck breast and place on a plate, garnish each breast with the sauce and a teaspoon of pickled sansho peppers.  

Enjoy with a glass of Nebbiolo.