Quick answer: On duck, wild pepper is kept for finishing a breast or a jus, while cinnamon and cloves, combined in Asian spice blends, flavour a whole roast duck. Ginger, in a marinade, lightens the duck's fatty flesh.
Duck, fattier and bolder in taste than chicken, can take spices that would be too much for a more neutral bird. This page presents these pairings, distinct from those already covered for game.
Wild pepper, as a finishing touch on a breast
Voatsiperifery wild pepper is a finishing pepper, to be ground at the last moment over an already-cooked duck breast or into a reduced jus, so as not to lose its finest notes to heat. Our recipe for duck breast with Voatsiperifery pepper sauce details one example, which this page does not repeat.
Cinnamon and cloves, in an Asian spice blend
A spice blend common in Asia brings together star anise, cloves, Chinese cinnamon, Sichuan pepper and fennel: it is rubbed onto a whole duck before roasting, notably for Cantonese roast duck. The cinnamon brings a sweet note and the cloves a deeper fragrance, which come through the duck's fatty skin during a long cooking time.
Ginger, for lightening fatty flesh
Ginger goes just as well with meat dishes as with fish dishes in several Asian cuisines, where, chopped, it readily pairs with meat before cooking. On duck, whose flesh is fattier than chicken's, it brings a spicy note in a marinade that lightens it. It is used in powder form before cooking, or at the end of preparing a sauce.
Pink berries, for a sweet-and-sour sauce
Pink berries, whole and lightly sweet, go with duck in a sweet-and-sour sauce, often with a fruit such as orange or fig. They are added at the end of cooking, whole or lightly crushed, to keep their fragrance and colour.
Before or after cooking
Cinnamon and cloves show their full potential when added at the start of preparation, rubbed onto the skin before a long cooking time, so their fragrance comes through the whole bird. Wild pepper and pink berries, on the other hand, are kept for the end, as a finishing touch on a jus or a sauce, so as not to lose their most volatile aromas.
Duck or game: two distinct registers
Duck, whether whole or as a breast, remains farmed poultry, to be distinguished from feathered or furred game, whose spices and sauces are bolder. A related page details the pairings specific to game.
Where our spices come from
Our family grows cloves and pink berries in Vangaindrano, in the southeast of Madagascar; the Voatsiperifery wild pepper is gathered there in the forest, it is not cultivated. Our Ceylon cinnamon also comes from this region.
Frequently asked questions
When should wild pepper be added to a duck breast?
It is ground at the last moment, over the already-cooked breast or into a reduced jus, so as not to lose its finest aromas to heat.
What spices make up a blend for Asian-style roast duck?
For a glazed duck, the blend brings together star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper and fennel, rubbed onto the skin before roasting.
Are wild pepper and black pepper used the same way on duck?
No, wild pepper is kept for finishing, while a cultivated pepper copes better with a longer cooking time.
Do pink berries go with duck?
Yes, whole or lightly crushed, at the end of cooking a sweet-and-sour sauce, often with a fruit such as orange or fig.
Our products to go further: Madagascar Wild Pepper · Madagascar Cinnamon · Madagascar Cloves · Madagascar Pink Berries
The Vanille Désiré team
