A rich, glossy American cherry sauce designed to accompany roast duckling stuffed with wild rice in the traditional Long Island style.
Ingredients
- 350 g fresh or frozen pitted Morello cherries
- 300 ml brown poultry stock
- 120 ml dry red wine
- 25 ml cider vinegar
- 1 piece French shallot
- 35 g unsalted butter
- 20 g light brown cane sugar
- 20 ml kirsch or cherry brandy
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- to taste fine salt
- to taste ground black pepper
Method
- Prepare the cherries: if frozen, let them thaw in the refrigerator, then collect their juice. Keep the fruit as whole as possible for a sauce with real tender pieces rather than crushed fruit.
- Sweat the shallot: in a small heavy-based saucepan, melt some of the butter over low heat. Add the shallot and cook without coloring until translucent, supple, and sweet-smelling.
- Deglaze: pour in the red wine and cider vinegar. Bring to a medium simmer and reduce until the smell of raw alcohol disappears and the liquid becomes darker and slightly syrupy around the edges of the pan.
- Add the fruit base: stir in the cherries, any juice, and the sugar. Cook at a gentle simmer, stirring carefully, until the cherries begin to release their juice while keeping their shape.
- Build the depth: pour in the brown poultry stock. Maintain a gentle, never violent boil until the sauce coats the back of a spoon and the bubbles become slower and glossier.
- Thicken precisely: mix the cornstarch with a little cold liquid taken from the saucepan, then whisk it back in. Cook briefly longer, until the sauce is satiny and coating, without a floury taste.
- Finish the sauce: add the kirsch off the heat, then swirl in the remaining butter in small pieces by rotating the saucepan. The sauce should become glossy, supple, and thick enough to cling to the meat without setting.
- Adjust: taste and correct with the fine salt and black pepper. The sauce should remain fruity and tangy, with a touch of sweetness, but it should not suggest a dessert.
- Serve hot: lightly coat the roast duckling or present the sauce separately in a warmed sauceboat. It traditionally accompanies the meat without smothering it.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 178.5 kcal
- Protein
- 1.59 g
- Carbohydrate
- 19.05 g
- Fat
- 7.6 g
- Fibre
- 1.66 g
- Calcium
- 6.9 mg
- Iron
- 0.28 mg
- Magnesium
- 4.14 mg
