I had the special privilege to make this dish along with a fellow classmate in my International Cuisine course instructed by Professor Stewart. It was a fairly easy recipe to follow with a few ingredients. I never had duck prepared like this so it was an exciting experience. For the recipe, we used duck legs since they are the juiciest and most tender which is also great for presentation. The legs had a nice sear but was not crispy since they were cooked in the sauce. As I took a bite of the leg, I was a bit disappointed because it did not have a strong taste. It was subtle with a hint of saltiness, sweetness and tartness. I much prefer the delicious lamb dish that was made that night. Also, I did not like how the pomegranate juice was used in the dish because I wanted a richer pomegranate taste and as the pomegranate cooked in the oven, it had created an inky ,dark grey color. However, the basmati rice did soak up the juices which enhanced the bland taste of the rice.The best part was that there were leftover pomegranate seeds to snack on.
Duck and pomegranate molasses does seem like a perfect combination. There’s probably a way to tweak it to get the flavor you’re looking for. Something to experiment with over the holidays?