Plum Sauce for Duck
A simple, aromatic plum sauce for duck that’s sweet, tangy, and lightly spiced. Perfect with roasted duck legs, slow-cooked duck, confit duck, or a whole roasted duck.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 262kcal
Equipment
- Roasting tin
- Medium saucepan
Ingredients
- 1 lb dark red plums
- 1 small onion
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- 1 cup chicken stock or vegetable stock
- ¾ cup red wine
- 1-2 teaspoons cornstarch optional, Note 2
- fine sea salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Make the sauce while the duck is roasting; even if it cools down, you can easily reheat it.
- Prepare the ingredients: Halve and stone the plums, then slice the halves. Finely chop the onion.1 lb dark red plums + 1 small onion
- Sauté onion: Heat the oil in the saucepan and sauté the onion for a couple of minutes until translucent but not colored.1 tablespoon olive oil + onion
- Add ingredients: Add the brown sugar and stir it for 2 minutes until dissolved and slightly caramelized. Add the plums, cinnamon stick, star anise, red wine, and stock.½ cup brown sugar + 1 cinnamon stick + 1 star anise + 1 cup chicken stock + ¾ cup red wine
- Simmer the plum sauce for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the plums are soft but not mushy and the sauce is slightly thickened.
- Optional: Thicken the sauce if you like. Stir 1–2 teaspoons of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of cold water to obtain a thick yet pourable slurry. Whisk the slurry slowly into the simmering sauce; you might not need all of it. The sauce should not be overly thick.1-2 teaspoons cornstarch + 1 tablespoon water
- Serve: Adjust the taste with salt and pepper (if necessary) and serve immediately or reheat it later (Note 2). The sauce also freezes well, so you can make it ahead and thaw it when you need it.fine sea salt and black pepper
Notes
- Thickening the sauce is optional. Depending on the juiciness of the plums, the pot, and the heat, the sauce might already be thick enough, or you may need to thicken it slightly with a small amount of cornstarch.
- Serve with Slow-Cooked Duck Legs (see images), confit duck, or a whole duck.
Nutrition
Serving: 1/4 of the dish | Calories: 262kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 98mg | Potassium: 370mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 398IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 1mg