Pairing Meats with Fruit

Posted in : Random on May 23, 2013 by : r.barkia

As summer approaches, so too does the farmer’s market overflowing with gorgeous fresh fruits.  Don’t restrict those fruits to the dessert table; let them take center stage with the entree.  Most meats will do an amazing job embracing fruit flavors for you – especially if you know the best pairings to begin with.

Here are some starting points for you as you begin to experiment with combining meats and fruits:

Chicken is a wonderful blank palette that will accommodate nearly any fruit you pair it with.  It works especially well with citrus fruits (Chicken Piccata features a lemon butter sauce); sweet fruits like mango, peaches, or apricots (any of these with some brown sugar and ground pecans will be a hit); or a glaze of tart fruits such as raspberries or cranberries adds loads of flavor to plain chicken.

Lamb is a much richer meat that can hold its own with more intense fruit flavors – fresh or dried – such as dates, figs, prunes, cranberries, or raisins.  It’s also traditionally paired with mint flavors, to which you can add a brighter fruit note, like pineapple or apricot.

Pork is another welcoming medium that matches up well with rich, zingy fruits.  Cherries – fresh or dried – are ideal with pork, but you can also pair it with cranberries, apples, currants, mangoes, plums, peaches, and apricots.  Start off with a Pork with Cherry Sauce or a traditional Pork and Apples recipe, then branch out to variations using other fruits.

Duck, never a dry meat, does not need the acidity of a citrus fruit marinade to act as a tenderizer.  It can take on blueberries, currants, raspberries, cranberries, cherries, peaches, pears, or pineapple.  Still, Duck a l’Orange is one of the best-known meat and fruit pairings out there for a reason – the citrus of the orange is an amazing complement to the richness of duck.

Veal has a delicate quality that marries well with limes, lemons, figs, oranges, and apples.  Stuffings featuring dried fruits are also excellent served with veal.

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