Recipes
Sous-vide duck breast, sweet corn and pickled cherries
25 minutes, plus pickled cherries made one week in advance
Preparation time
1 hour 35 minutes
Cooking time
4
Serves
Ingredients
Duck
4 boneless duck breasts (150-175 g each)
Salt flakes, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper
200 g watercress, to serve
Sweetcorn puree
60 ml olive oil
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
3 shallots, finely sliced
4 corn cobs, kernels removed
Pinch saffron
300 ml chicken stock
50 ml cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
Pickled cherries
500 ml cabernet sauvignon vinegar
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp salt
1 orange, zest and juice
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
½ tsp juniper berries
1 kg cherries, pitted
Sauce
200 ml chicken jus
Pickled cherry liquid to taste
20 g butter, cold
20 g tarragon, chopped
Method
Duck
- Season duck generously with salt and pepper.
- Seal duck in 2 large vacuum sealing bags. Vacuum on setting 3 and Seal on setting 3.
- Place the sealed bags into a perforated steam container and Steam at 55°C for 1 hour.
- Once duck is cooked, remove from bags and dry thoroughly with paper towel.
- Heat a frying pan on medium heat, Induction setting 6. Place breasts skin side down and render until golden brown and crisp (approximately 5 minutes).
- Turn the duck breasts over and cook the second side until barely coloured, about 30 seconds.
- Transfer onto a paper towel lined plate and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Sweetcorn puree
- Heat oil in a frying pan on medium high heat, Induction setting 7. Stir in garlic and shallots and cook until soft.
- Add corn kernels and saffron and heat for 1 minute.
- Add stock and cook until corn has softened and liquid has reduced.
- While still warm, place in a blender and puree.
- Add cream and season to taste.
Pickled cherries
- Combine all ingredients except cherries in a medium sized saucepan and bring to the boil on high heat, Induction setting 8.
- Turn heat down to Induction setting 3 and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove the pickling liquid from the heat and cool. Once cooled, pour over the cherries.
- Place the cherries into an airtight container and leave to marinate for 1 week in the refrigerator.
Sauce
- Pour the chicken jus into a medium sized saucepan and warm through on medium heat, Induction setting 5.
- Add the pickling liquid to taste then whisk in butter and tarragon.
- Hold sauce on Induction setting Keep Warm until ready to serve.
To serve
- Place 2 tablespoons of the corn puree on a plate. Slice the duck breast and place on top.
- Place 1 tablespoon of cherries to the side. Spoon the sauce around the dish, garnish with watercress and serve.
Hints and tips
- Pickled cherries are to be made one week in advance.
Applicance Functions
Michael Meredith
Michael Meredith is an acclaimed chef and restaurateur based in New Zealand. Born in Samoa, his earliest food memories are of his mother's pancake stall at a local market in Apia. His latest restaurant, Metita, which opened in late 2023, is a tribute to his late mother and is located in Auckland's SkyCity precinct. The menu at Metita offers a contemporary take on Polynesian and Pacific cuisine, inspired by his childhood.
Throughout his career, Michael has been recognized for his inventive use of local and seasonal ingredients. He was the founding chef of The Grove in 2004, and later opened his own multi-award-winning restaurant, Merediths, which operated for a decade. He is also the owner of the Auckland eatery Mr Morris.
Beyond his restaurants, Meredith has been involved in charitable projects. He was a co-founder of Eat My Lunch, a social enterprise that helps provide lunches to underprivileged children in New Zealand. He also lends his culinary skills to other causes, such as raising money for the Starship Children's Hospital.