Broiled Duck Breasts with Orange Chipotle Sauce

Ingredients

• 0.5 teaspoon pepper black
• 1 tablespoon chipotles in adobo canned finely chopped
• 1 stick cinnamon (3- to 4-inch)
• 0.3 cup juice of lime fresh
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup dark (preferably amber or Grade B)
• 3 lb muscovy duck breasts boneless with skin) long island (also called pekin) duck breast halves with skin
• 2.5 cups orange juice fresh
• 1.5 teaspoons salt 

Equipment

• frying pan
• sauce pan
• knife
• kitchen thermometer
• broiler
• cutting board
• broiler pan

Directions

1. Boil all sauce ingredients in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, skimming foam occasionally, until syrupy and reduced to about 1 cup, 30 to 40 minutes.
2. Let stand while duck broils.
3. Remove rack of a broiler pan, then add 1 cup water to broiler pan and replace rack. Preheat broiler with pan 5 to 6 inches from heat.
4. Pat duck breasts dry and score skin at 1-inch intervals with a sharp knife (do not cut into meat), then sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Broil duck breasts, skin sides down, 4 minutes for Long Island duck or 8 minutes for Muscovy, then turn over and broil until thermometer inserted horizontally into center of a breast registers 130°F (see cooks' note, below), 8 to 10 minutes more for medium-rare.
5. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand 5 minutes.
6. Add any juices accumulated on cutting board to sauce and simmer until slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.
7. Holding a sharp knife at a 45-degree angle, cut each duck breast into thin slices and serve with sauce.
8. • The USDA recommends cooking duck breasts to an internal temperature of 170°F to ensure that any harmful bacteria are killed, but since we prefer the meat medium-rare, we cook it to only 130°F. Otherwise, the duck gets tough and livery.• Sauce can be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Reheat before adding juices from duck.