Duck à l'orange with saffron seasoned pearl barley

Duck à l'orange with saffron seasoned pearl barley

Duck à l’orange. The French have figured out how brilliant the combination is, the Chinese have realized, and the rest of the world should realize if they haven’t yet. Sweet, sour, tangy, savory, amazing duck à l’orange. Here’s a wonderful recipe that you’ll absolutely love!

Prepare the pearl barley

Pearl barley isn’t very popular around here, but the poles eat it a lot. It’s absolutely lovely, like a mix between semolina, bulgur and rice.

  • Olive oil
  • 1 dl of pearl barley
  • 1 onion
  • Chicken stock (either in a cube or in liquid form)
  • Less than a gram of saffron, your scale might not even detect it, so just… the tip of your nail.
  1. In a saucepan, drizzle some oil and set on medium heat.
  2. Finely chop the onion and fry until soft.
  3. Add the pearl barley
  4. And about 4 dl of chicken stock (or a chicken stock cube and 4 dl of water)
  5. If you have full stigmas and styles of saffron, use a mortar to crush them. If it’s already in the form of a powder, then no need to. Add into the saucepan.
  6. Cover and let cook for about 20 minutes. If there’s already sodium in your chicken stock, no need to add more salt.

Prepare the duck à l’orange

  • A large duck breast with the thick fat skin intact
  • 1 large orange
  • 1 tablespoon of sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of vinegar (I use balsamic vinegar which gives a darker sauce and a wonderful flavor to it)
  1. Heat up a pan on medium low
  2. Put the duck breast in there, skin down. You could make cuts along the skin to crisp it up a little, but it’s not mandatory.
  3. Let it slowly fry until the fat melts into the pan
  4. Turn it around, and fry the meaty side too.
  5. Wipe off the skin, so it’s dry (more crispy)
  6. Pop into the oven, preferably with a thermometer shoved into the duck. When the interior temperature is 62°C, it’s perfect in my opinion.
  7. Set aside the duck. There’ a lot of fat in the pan now, you could use some of it for another time, it makes great fat for frying potatoes in. Or just make sauce out of it all, who cares about calories?
  8. Grate off some zest from about 1/4 of the orange, and set aside for now.
  9. Cut the orange open and squeeze all the juice into the pan.
  10. Add vinegar.
  11. Add sugar, and let it melt. It will all bubble as the liquid evaporates and the sugar caramelizes. Don’t burn it! Just let it thicken up a little.
  12. Finish off by adding the zest, and your sauce is done. Set aside in a sauce cup or whatever container you have.

Serving

  • Your perfectly fried duck à l’orange
  • Some orange liqueur (optional)
  • Salt
  • Black pepper
  • Saffron pearl barley
  • The sauce
  • Some butter
  1. In a pan, melt some butter
  2. Dry off the duck skin again and fry skin down to give it that last touch of crispness.
  3. Add some liqueur and set on fire!
  4. Cut into thin slices.
  5. Serve with the pearl barley
  6. Add some salt and pepper to the slices of duck.
  7. Some sauce to top it of.
  8. Done!

duck à l'orange with pearl barley