
Duck Breast & Turnips with Medjool Dates & Caramelized Honey-Ginger Reduction
Chef: Terry Foshee, George’s at the Cove
six servings, 20 min prep time, 30 min cook time
Ingredients
3 ea. 12 oz. Liberty Farms Duck breasts, trimmed of excess fat and score
4 sprigs fresh thyme
24 ea. baby turnips with greens attached
1 tbsp. clarified butter
18 ea. Medjool dates, pitted and cut in quarters
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. shallots, sliced thin
1/4 tsp. cracked black pepper
2 tbsp. good quality honey
1 tbsp. ginger, peeled and minced
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 cups duck stock (you can substitute veal stock)
2 tbsp. cold unsalted butter
Directions
Turnips
- Trim the greens off 1/2-inch above the turnips. Rinse the turnips and cut in 1/4s.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the turnips. Boil until slightly tender and still crunchy. Remove to an ice bath to chill.
- Once chilled remove from the water immediately and reserve.
- Separate the turnip leaves from the tough stems and rinse well, reserve.
Reduction
- Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and black pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until the shallots begin to caramelize.
- Add the honey and cook until the honey turns a deep caramel being careful not to let it burn.
- Add the ginger and vinegar—careful the honey will splatter. Reduce until syrupy.
- Add the duck stock and simmer until reduced to a sauce-like consistency.
- Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a clean saucepot and reserve.
Duck
- Preheat the oven to 400° degrees.
- Season the duck breasts well with salt and black pepper.
- Heat a heavy-bottomed large sauté pan (cast iron works well) over medium-high heat and place the duck breasts fat side down.
- Cook until the skin and fat are well browned throughout, pouring off excess fat frequently—approximately 4-5 minutes.
- Place the pan in the oven. Roast until an internal temperature of 125ºF (52ºC) is reached—approximately 3-4 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and flip the duck breast. Add the thyme sprigs to the pan with the rendered duck fat. Baste the duck with the thyme-infused duck fat for a minute or two.
- Remove the duck from the pan and reserve it in a warm place.
To Finish
- In a large sauté pan, heat the clarified butter over medium-high heat.
- Add the turnips and sauté until lightly browned.
- Add the greens and the dates and heat through. ‘
- Remove the veggies from the pan and disperse evenly on your plates.
- Slice the duck breasts thinly and place on top of the turnip mixture.
- Reheat the reduction and finish by whisking in the two tablespoons of butter.
- Remove from heat and spoon the sauce around.