Bitter dark chocolate lacquered duck combines chocolate and meat in a particularly pleasant way, both to the taste buds and to the eye. Duck meat is very popular in French and Chinese cuisine, and the best way to cook it is low-fat roasting. Duck with orange is famous throughout the world. In this recipe we have combined the meat with dark chocolate and a very fragrant marinade of spices instead. The amounts of spices and chocolate can vary according to taste. To get a balanced flavour, it is advisable not to overdo the quantities.

1

To prepare bitter dark chocolate lacquered duck, start with marinade. Place cloves, juniper berries, bay leaves, cinnamon, salt and pepper in a heat-resistant dish. Moisten the bottom with oil and mix all together. Place duck breast on top, and rub with oil and spices. Cover dish with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for a few hours. Once ready, cook for sixty minutes at 70 °C / 158 °F in a combi steamer. If you do not have a combi steamer, cook for ninety minutes (again at 70 °C / 158 °F) with a small pot of water in the oven. Alternatively, cook meat in a vacuum cooker for ninety minutes at 69 °C / 156.2 °F.

2

Once done, towel-dry duck breast, make cross cuts in skin, and braise in a non-stick frying pan on the skin side.

3

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or microwave, and dilute with hot brandy, a drop at a time. Once sauce is thick and sticky, brush duck breast, and scallop by cutting meat diagonally into evenly thick, same-sized slices. Complete dish by decorating with fresh raspberry reduction, to which you may add a light layer of dark chocolate.