Wood Duck in a Red Wine Hunter’s Sauce

Recipe by David Giles
Prepared by Sarah Giles

Ingredients:
4-6 Duck breast fillets
3-5 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 clove minced garlic
1 tsp cajun seasoning
3/4 cup sliced shallots
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup red wine
1-1/2 cup beef stock
2-3 bay leaves
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Wild, long-grain, or white rice

Directions:
Pat duck breasts dry and season on both sides with Cajun seasoning.

Heat a medium skillet on medium-high heat. Once the skillet is hot, add 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Avoid olive oil as it does not have a high enough heat tolerance. Add duck breasts to skillet and sear 3-4 minutes each side, turning once. Remove duck breasts and set aside. Reduce heat to medium, adding more oil if necessary. Sautee shallots and mushrooms until shallots are translucent and mushrooms have softened. While shallots and mushrooms are cooking, prepare as much rice as desired. Add minced garlic to shallots and mushrooms and saute for 30 seconds. Add 1/2 cup red wine and reduce by half. Add beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, and bay leaves and continue to reduce until sauce is a medium-thin consistency. If the sauce needs to be thickened, mix 1/3 cup water and 2 tbsp cornstarch in a separate bowl and stir into the sauce as needed. 

To serve:
Place rice on a plate, and seared duck breasts on top. Spoon sauce generously on top of duck breasts and rice.  Serve warm.