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One of the most popular dishes around the holidays is duck breast. But cooking duck breast can be somewhat daunting. You want a crispy skin and the meat should be beautiful and blushing. So here I’ll give you two easy ways to prepare your next duck breast recipe. What should you pay attention to and what can go wrong?
Cook the perfect duck breast
After turkey, salmon and leg of lamb, duck is undoubtedly one of the favorite dishes at Christmas and Easter too. And rightly so because a well-prepared piece of duck breast is delicious! On the other hand; a wrongly cooked piece of duck breast is not really tasty.
You’ve probably eaten one of those too well-done pieces of duck. It slightly tastes of liver, it’s tough and definitely not what you want when you order a duck breast. But what is the best way to properly cook a duck breast? Should you use the oven, or should you pan fry? And how long should you roast the duck?
The very first time I went to prepare a duck breast fillet myself, I found it quite exciting and somewhat scary. I honestly had no idea how to start the proces and while googling the information did help a bit I was still anxious to get it right.
Fortunately, I had a duck breast with quite a thick layer of fat. I say fortunately because having that layer of fat protects the duck meat from over cooking plus I simply like duck fat.
Wild or tame
The difference in the fat layer usually comes from the difference in a wild or a tame duck. A wild duck has had much more exercise than a tame duck. So as a result you will find that wild duck is leaner. That’s good to know when you go out and buy your duck.
Red or rosé?
Of course, tastes differ and there are some people who absolutely hate red meat. In that case, I would actually recommend not eating duck, because duck cooked all the way through is a real waste and will result in dry duck breasts.
Duck two ways
I give you two ways to cook your duck breast here, and which one you choose also depends a bit on the amount of fat of the duck. For a thick fat layer, I would go for option 1 (pan-seared duck breast) and for a less thick fat layer for option 2 (oven baked duck breast). The duck breast from the photos you see here was not very fatty so I cooked it in the pan and oven. Result was perfect. In either case you want the skin of the duck breast to be perfectly crispy and in order to do that you score the fat in a diamond shaped pattern. Use a sharp knife for doing that. That’s also a great way to add some salt and pepper into the fat. You can rub it in and due to the scoring it will get further into the flesh.
You will season both sides of the duck breast but you only score the fat side. You place the duck breast with the fat side in a dry hot pan on medium heat. And using the oven method, make sure that the pan is oven proof. If you’re duck is very lean you can rub the duck in a little bit of olive oil before adding it to the pan if you want.
Feeling
In the end, part of it also comes down to having a feeling for when the duck is good. It really isn’t very complicated, but if you have doubts, try it out before your Christmas dinner or dinner party. Then you’ll definitely know what to look out for and how to do it.
What can go wrong with baking the duck breast?
Of course, there are things that can go wrong when frying duck breast. Therefore, here are the most common problems and how to avoid them.
What internal temperature should a duck breast be?
My duck has a soggy skin
Put oil in the pan
Do not throw away the duck fat!
What do I serve the duck breast with?
How long should I rest the duck breast?
Cooking the perfect duck breast
Ingredients
Option 1 for duck breast with thick fat layer
- 1 duck breast fillet
- pepper
- salt
- spices of your choice
Option 2 for duck breast with thin layer of fat
- 1 duck breast fillet
- pepper
- salt
- spices of your choice
How to cook the perfect duck breast
Option 1
- Take a frying pan and prepare the duck. Cut the duck breast on the fat side in a diamond pattern. Don't cut too deep, you don't want to get into the meat.
- Rub the duck breast with herbs, salt and pepper of your choice.
- Place the duck breast fat-side down in the cold pan. You don't need any oil or butter in the pan! Let this fry gently (on medium to high heat. Check your temperature and how fast it goes!) for about ten minutes. The duck breast should be nice and golden brown and crispy. The most important thing is that the fat renders out. This will give you a crispy skin and get rid of most of the fatty layer. Turn over to the meat side and cook for a few more minutes.
- Remove the duck breast from the pan and let it rest for ten minutes before carving. Never cut right away as all the juices will run out in no time!
Option 2
- Preheat the oven to 200˚C (400˚F). If you use a frying pan that goes in the oven, you can put it in immediately. If you don't have one, put an oven dish in the oven so that it preheats as well.
- Slice your duck breast again and rub with salt, pepper and herbs of your choice.
- Fry again in a dry cold frying pan on the skin side until golden brown and crispy.
- Turn the duck breast over and put it in the oven with the skin side up for about 6-8 minutes. When you take the duck out, it should feel firm but still yield.
- Again, let rest for 10 minutes before cutting the duck!
Nutrition Information per portion:
Disclaimer:
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
Gordon Ramsay
And because it is always helpful to see how it works rather than reading about it, I have added a video by no other than Gordon Ramsay on how to cook the perfect duck breast!
