Cherry Ancho Duck Breasts
with Pistachio Rice & Roasted Green Beans
- Tree Nuts
- Milk
Rich, juicy duck pairs beautifully with a sweet, fruit-based sauce—it’s a combo that’s about as classic as it gets. Our chefs decided to take things a step further by adding a bit of ancho chili powder to the mix, which creates a smoky, sultry mystique. The excitement only continues with the sides: pistachio-studded rice and tender roasted green beans. This is just the sort of dish we want to make when we’re feeling a little fancy.
Ingredients
1 unit
Cherry Jam
6 ounce
Green Beans
½ cup
Jasmine Rice
1 ounce
Pistachios
(Contains: Tree Nuts)
1 teaspoon
Ancho Chili Powder
12 ounce
Duck Breasts
1 unit
Chicken Demi-Glace
(Contains: Milk)
1 ounce
Dried Cherries
2 unit
Scallions
Not included in your delivery
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
2 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry produce. • Pat duck* dry with paper towels; season all over with salt and pepper. • Place duck skin sides down in a large, preferably nonstick, pan. Cook over medium heat until skin is crisp and most of the fat has rendered, 15-20 minutes, pouring off fat as it renders. (Don’t flip duck just yet.)
• Meanwhile, trim and thinly slice scallions, separating whites from greens. • Melt 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings) in a small pot over medium-high heat. Add scallion whites and cook, stirring occasionally, until just softened, 1 minute. • Stir in rice and ¾ cup water (1½ cups for 4). Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a low simmer. Cook until rice is tender, 15-18 minutes. • Keep covered off heat until ready to use in step 5.
• While rice cooks, trim green beans if necessary. Toss on a baking sheet with a drizzle of oil, salt, and pepper. • Roast on top rack until browned and tender, 12-15 minutes.
• While green beans roast, in a small bowl, combine jam, demi-glace, chili powder, and ¼ cup water. • Once skin is crisp, flip duck in pan. Pour in jam mixture and add dried cherries. Simmer until sauce has thickened and duck is cooked to desired doneness, 3-5 minutes. • Leaving sauce in pan, transfer duck to a cutting board. TIP: If sauce is too thick, add 1-2 TBSP water (3-4 TBSP for 4 servings).
• Reduce heat under pan with sauce to low and stir in 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings) until melted. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off heat and set aside. • Fluff rice with a fork; stir in pistachios. Season with salt and pepper.
• Slice duck crosswise. • Divide rice, green beans, and duck between plates. Drizzle sauce over duck. Garnish with scallion greens and serve.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the rich, juicy duck with its sweet-and-smoky cherry ancho sauce; some found it a delicious first experience with duck 🍒
- Ease of prep: First-time duck cooks found it surprisingly easy to prepare, though some needed longer cooking times than stated
- Suggestions: Consider scoring the duck skin before cooking for better fat rendering; adjust sauce sweetness to taste
- Leftovers: Duck reheated well the next day, with some saying it tasted even better
- Rice: The pistachio rice was a hit for most, adding a unique crunch and flavor to the dish
Reviews from our home cooks
Excellent quality of Duck breast, fragrant Jasmine Rice (I added a tbsp of Coconut oil at the end to enhance the flavor). Green Beans were a refreshing idea to bake them and I plan to cook them that way in future. They needed flavor so I added a mixture of Sesame oil, Oyster Sauce, Soy Sauce, Garlic, Ginger and toasted sesame seeds and tossed the beans in the sauce. Very good. I did not use the sweet sauces but mixed all the sauces with fruit to make a side condiment or fruit sauce compote. Very good
The preparation is different from what we are used to. However, the duck was quite tasty with the unique flavor of cherries mixed with ancho chili powder. The skin was quite crispy. Most of us don't normally eat pistachios, but we did like the pistachio in the rice.
Loved the sauce, and the duck breast pieces were large and plump. Pistachio rice seemed like a weird combo, but it was good. Directions were easy to follow, and I ended up cooking everything just right.
I seasoned the duck about 1:00 pm, knowing that we wouldn't be cooking until about 7:30pm, so it worked like a dry brine. My husband grilled it on the charcoal grill with cherry smoking chips, undercooked a bit, then I crisped up the skin a bit in a pan to make the sauce. The duck came out sooooo tender and juicy, and the smokiness complimented the ancho cherry sauce perfectly! The pistachios in the rice were the perfect touch. We're now thinking about doing a whole duck on the grill using a similar sauce!
The duck was amazing but the rice and beans were disappointing. I would have wanted something special for the green beans, and although the pistachios on the rice were a new flavor combination to keep for future dishes, I don't think the crunch complimented the softness of the rice well.
Absolutely delicious! I made more of the cherry sauce. My guest raved about the dinner. I was sceptical about the pistachios in the rice, but they were awesome in the rice. The duck melted in your mouth. Will be making this again.
Yeah so this cherry ancho sauce was one of the best things I've ever tasted, for sure. I followed the directions and my duck came out perfect (and I had never cooked duck before this). Great!
Did not know duck was so easy to cook and so effortlessly delicious! Definitely my new favorite protein! I ended up overcooking the Cherry Ancho into a sticky taffy candy like substance (could use a warning next time), but it was still delicious to eat!
This was an incredible dish! I'm not a huge fan of duck...have had it a few times but it was always too greasy. The way you had me cook it was perfection! And the pistachio rice! We felt 'fancy' for a Saturday night meal. My pics on IG were a huge hit. Thank you for a great meal!
This was one of the best yet! The rice took longer to cook than the directions said, and we had to add another half cup of water to keep it from burning. We are getting just a bit tired of green beans...but will try to avoid them for a bit. Really loved the duck!
