Duck with Wild Mushrooms

We've previously prepared duck ragus using duck legs, now its time to use some other parts of the duck.  In the San Francisco/East Bay area, we get great duck parts at Berkeley Bowl, Barrons Meats and Poultry in the Alameda Marketplace, and the Golden Gate Meat Company in the San Francisco Ferry Building.

We have several favorite duck breast recipes, including Spice Rubbed with Grilled Peaches and Goat Cheese Salad, Seared with a Balsamic-Cherry Reduction, and Crispy with Glazed Carrots.  But, today, we're going with an old favorite, Sauteed with Wild Mushrooms from Bistro:  The Best of Casual French Cooking.

We head over the the Ferry Building (treating ourselves to a trip to San Francisco) for a thick, plump Muscovy duck breast (one is enough to feed the two of us).  I score the breast in a cross-hatch pattern, rub with salt and pepper, and cook over medium heat in an ovenproof sauté pan, skin side down.  After 2-3 minutes, when the duck breast is sizzling, I put the sauté pan into a 400º oven for around ten minutes.  Then, I turn turn the breast over and continue to cook in the oven for about five more minutes, after which I remove it from the pan and keep it warm.

Duck breast roasting in the oven

We head over the Nob Hill Foods in Alameda for mushroom (Far West Fungi at the San Francisco Ferry building is also great, but we forgot to stop there when we picked up the duck breast), looking for 1/2 pound each of chantarelle, oyster, and shitake.  However, whatever looks good at the store is best and this time we end up with oyster, portobello, and white button mushrooms.  We coarsely chop all the mushrooms, and using the same sauté pan (after pouring out the duck fat and replacing it with a pour of olive oil and 1/2 stick of butter), we sauté several chopped shallots and garlic and add the mushrooms, cooking a few minutes until they begin to soften.

Ingredients for the mushroom sauté

And, sautéing in the pan

And, by now, the kitchen smells really good!

After the mushrooms have softened, we add 1/3 cup of white wine, a cup of chicken stock (the recipe calls for veal stock, but we rarely have that around the house), bring it to a boil, then simmer for five minutes.

Back to the duck (this is a dish about duck), we slice the breasts, spoon the mushrooms onto warmed plates and arrange the duck breast slices on top.

Ready for slicing

The explosion of complementary tastes is incredible and we come back to this dish over and over.  Enjoy!