Although it tends to strike some as a novelty in savory recipes, chocolate is not an uncommon ingredient outside of the wonderful world of baked goods and other confections. All the wonderfully vast and varied moles in creation are likely first to come to mind (even though chocolate isn’t the main ingredient in mole sauce). But you’ll also find cocoa varieties in things like chili, barbecue preparations, and marinades. Chocolate also performs terrifically in some dishes where it isn’t quite as expected, like in a lovely duck l’orange.
Even if you aren’t so fluent in French, duck l’orange is exactly what it sounds like: rich roast duck in a bright citrus sauce. Chocolate and orange are already a classic combination, and the former also amplifies the nuanced depth of the already pretty dynamic protein. The key is to keep the cocoa to the sauce itself, and to go with a darker compound to avoid any unwanted sweetness. This is still supposed to be duck l’orange, not duck l’ice cream sundae.
Introducing chocolate to your duck l’orange at home
If you already have a favorite duck l’orange recipe, that’s great. Some will call for you to roast the whole bird, and other instructions will let you l’orange in parts. The main quacking event is immaterial to how you introduce the chocolate to the sauce, which you want to do incrementally, and judiciously. “It probably goes without saying, but you’ll want to use a high-quality chocolate,” pastry chef Sara Watson previously told Chowhound in consideration of ways to incorporate chocolate into a savory dish.
Even when you’re only using a little, the taste and texture improvement you typically get by spending a bit more is just worth the extra expense. You don’t want any of the telltale signs you’re eating a low-quality chocolate seeping into your fancy French cooking. Once you’ve gotten your hands on a good square or two, you can grate about an ounce at a time into the sauce to reach your desired flavor. The grating helps the chocolate melt better as you stir it in. You probably don’t want the sauce to take on a total chocolate quality or distract from the orange, so a little will go a long way, and you can save the rest for dessert.
