Easy Cherry Sauce for Duck (with Frozen Cherries)

The easiest Cherry Sauce For Duck you are ever going to make, this recipe comes together in 15 minutes and is made with frozen cherries, so it can be enjoyed any time of the year! What is more, you won't even need any wine for this sauce - just a dash of balsamic vinegar! This is a perfect sauce to go with duck, pigeon, pheasant or even beef or venison. We used sour cherries, but dark sweet cherries will work too! 

Jump to:

• Cherry Sauce Without Wine
• Ingredient Notes
• Variations: Adding More Flavour 
• Reader Review
• What to Serve Sour Cherry Sauce With? 
• Step-By-Step Method
• Storage and Leftovers
• People Also Asked
• Easy Cherry Sauce for Duck (With Frozen Cherries)

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Cherry Sauce Without Wine

There are so many great recipes out there for Cherry Sauce, but most require lots of red wine and ruby port. We hardly ever have port wine, and whilst we love wine reduction sauces, we feel that a perfectly flavoursome sauce can be made without it! What we use instead is balsamic vinegar!

But if you are looking for a traditional sauce for your red meat, try our Easy Red Wine Jus instead!

Ingredient Notes

Whether you're in the cherry season or not, you'll be able to make this delicious cherry sauce for duck, as it uses frozen cherries. Here's what you will need:

• frozen cherries: we used sour cherries, but sweet black cherries (a.k.a. dark cherries) will work well too. If using fresh cherries, you may need to increase the amount as they tend to release a lot less juice.  
• light brown sugar: can be replaced with other types of sugar, or honey. 
• ground nutmeg: optional, but recommended.  
• cornflour (corn starch): potato starch or arrowroot can also be used. 
• balsamic vinegar: if you run out, try this recipe with red wine vinegar, but add a little more sugar. 

Variations: Adding More Flavour 

• Add a sprig of thyme or rosemary into the sauce when the cherries are simmering away.
• For a Christmassy flavour, add a strip of orange peel into your sauce whilst it cooks, then take it out last minute. 
• If you are cooking this sauce whilst your duck is resting, make it in the same frying pan used for cooking duck. Make sure to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan to get every bit of flavour. 

What to Serve Sour Cherry Sauce With? 

This Easy Cherry Sauce recipe is meant for savoury dishes. Perhaps the most popular way to use sour cherry sauce is with a nice seared duck breast, Roasted Whole Duck or our Duck Confit (we cook duck legs in a slow cooker covered in olive oil). Simply smear some sauce in a 'chefy' manner on the side of the plate - it will look very 'Michelin-star-like'. 

Apart from duck, this sauce goes well with other gamy meats, including venison, pigeon and pheasant. We tried it with a beef fillet steak and pork chops thought it worked very well too! 

Step-By-Step Method

1. Place frozen cherries, 2 tablespoon of water (or duck stock), brown sugar, nutmeg, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a small saucepan. 

2. Heat on medium-low heat until the cherries soften and release the juices, helping them along by stirring and pressing down with a spoon. This will take about 10 minutes.

3. Pour the sauce through a fine sieve and squeeze any juices from the cherries, pressing them down with a spoon against the sieve. Discard the cherry solids, and pour the sauce back into a saucepan. Add the balsamic vinegar.

4. In a small bowl, mix the cornflour and a tablespoon of water. Pour the mixture into the cherry sauce and stir. Heat the sauce over medium heat, stirring continuously for 1-2 minutes. It should thicken ever so slightly (add a splash of water or chicken broth if it thickens too much) and have a lovely shine to it!

5. Season sauce with salt and black pepper if needed. Serve the sauce warm!

Storage and Leftovers

Once your cherry sauce has cooled down to room temperature, the best way to store it is in the fridge. It will stay fresh for up to 3 days. While you can safely freeze the sauce, keep in mind that it will lose some of its shine and texture, making it best when freshly made.

Got leftovers? No problem! This delicious recipe can be transformed into a fantastic alternative to hoisin sauce for duck pancakes with pekin duck. 

Simply thicken the sauce with a bit more cornflour slurry and adjust the sweetness of the sauce by adding a little extra sugar. Cool cherry sauce down, then spoon sauce onto pancakes with roast duck. It's a fun and tasty twist that will make your next meal a hit!

People Also Asked