Cooking Duck Breasts

bigdunc

bigdunc

bigdunc

Associate
Joined
30 May 2004
Posts
669
Location
Uk
I really like duck but have never cooked it myself. Any tips or advice on how to cook it and what to serve it with?

Cheers
 
Score the skin and generously season with salt and pepper.

Heat a pan to a medium/ high heat (I use 6 or 7). DO NOT put oil in the pan.

Cook skin side down till golden brown (about 5-6 mins). A lot of of fat will pour out of the breast so drain as you go every few mins.

Flip over and cook other side for about 1 to 1.5 mins just to brown and seal it a bit.

Place in a 180-200 degree oven till cooked to your liking.

Approx. 8-10 mins rare. 10-12 medium rare, 12-14 medium (this is a nice pink and how I serve it), or 16-20 for well done.

Serve with anything really.... Sweet potato mash, garlic mash, sauté potatoes etc etc

Hope this helps.
 
As above but i would start with a cold pan instead of a hot one as when the pan heats up it will spend more time heating and rendering the duck fat out of the skin
 
^ I use the same method so can't add to that.
Duck goes well with plums so for a simple plum sauce:
200g ripe plums, stones removed and cut into wedges
250ml stock (I use veg stock due to vegetarians but beef works better)
Half a red onion, chopped finely
50g of brown sugar
70ml red wine
1tbsp olive oil
Splash of balsamic vinegar

1. Fry the onion in the olive oil until they soften(but not browned). Add a splash of balsamic vinegar and simmer until it forms a thick syrup.
2. Add the plums and sugar, keep stirring until the sugar goes syrupy.
3. Pour in the red wine and simmer on a medium heat for 2 minutes.
4. Add the stock and simmer for 10 minutes or until the plums are soft.

Sweet honey carrots also go well with duck and they're nice and quick.
Slice 3-4 good sized carrots on the diagonal into 1cm pieces.
Add them to boiling water for 6-8 minutes, or until they are almost done. Drain throroughly.
Meanwhile heat a knob of butter with a teaspoon of olive oil and add a tablespoon of honey and desert spoon of brown sugar. Once dissolved into a syrup add the carrots and stir regularly for around 5 minutes.
 
My tip is don't let the pan get too hot. It's a thick bit of meat and its easy to burn the skin while the middle is still raw. I find duck a bit unpleasant when it's too rare; when it's just off rare and has some colour round the outside I find it takes on a lot more flavour.

I must cure a duck breast at some point. Sounds amazing!
 
I have a sort-of related question; why is it that you can eat pink duck breast, but chicken and some other poultry are completely disease ridden unless cooked completely through?
 
My understanding is that it's the temperature the meat reaches and the time it stays at that temperature that makes it safe to eat. Darker meat like duck will stay pinker after having reached a temperature that would turn chicken breast white.

Plus certain meats are inherently safer than others streak tartare for example.

I did read somewhere that in the far east chicken used to be eaten pink until husbandry methods made endemic bacteria like salmonella a problem.
 
panthro said:
I have a sort-of related question; why is it that you can eat pink duck breast, but chicken and some other poultry are completely disease ridden unless cooked completely through?
Click to expand...

Interesting question. I Googled it and this was the most compelling reason for me:

"I can't believe no one has mentioned the actual reason yet. Chickens are "washed" in a bath of fecal soup during processing, so one contaminated chicken infects the whole batch, and thus the odds of getting a chicken crawling with Salmonella and Campylobacter are much higher than with Ducks, which aren't processed the same way.

Moreover, the machines they use to eviscerate chickens are much more likely to puncture the intestines and release the microscopic baddies than the way ducks are cleaned."
 
Hodders said:
My understanding is that it's the temperature the meat reaches and the time it stays at that temperature that makes it safe to eat. Darker meat like duck will stay pinker after having reached a temperature that would turn chicken breast white.

Plus certain meats are inherently safer than others streak tartare for example.

I did read somewhere that in the far east chicken used to be eaten pink until husbandry methods made endemic bacteria like salmonella a problem.
Click to expand...

Also most people over cook chicken until it is very dry. This is understandable but if you use a meat thermometer you can cook it to a much lower degree and still have it safe. E.g. Some times you get blood around the bones of a chicken thigh but this isn't a big deal, it is actually normal now that chickens are grown faster and slaughtered younger.

Also people tend to cook breasts without any skin or fat on so you get a dry tasteless piece of meat. The fat on duck helps keep the meat moist and tasty through longer cooking.
 
D.P. said:
Also most people over cook chicken until it is very dry. This is understandable but if you use a meat thermometer you can cook it to a much lower degree and still have it safe. E.g. Some times you get blood around the bones of a chicken thigh but this isn't a big deal, it is actually normal now that chickens are grown faster and slaughtered younger.

Also people tend to cook breasts without any skin or fat on so you get a dry tasteless piece of meat. The fat on duck helps keep the meat moist and tasty through longer cooking.
Click to expand...

My BIL has a rotisserie on his bbq and a chicken cooked on this is like no other. I normally don't like chicken a great deal, if I do a roast I often eat the legs and give the breast to the dog but done on the rotisserie every mouthful is amazingly succulent.
 
Similar to other replies, I score the skin to help release the fat, rub in some salt, pepper and five spice powder (five spice goes really well with duck breast). Put skin side down it in a cold pan on to a medium heat for 6-8 mins, turn and fry for a few mins then into the oven for about 5-8 mins, depending on thickness. Serve nice and pink with a crunchy stir-fry.
Making me drool as I type.

I like to pour away the excess fat, deglaze the pan with balsamic vinegar and add a little honey and make a honey & balsamic reduction to pour over the breast.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom