Duck Breast

Anchundan

Anchundan

Anchundan

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Joined
26 Feb 2004
Posts
970
Location
China (Qinhuangdao)
For some reason I always assumed duck breast was expensive, so I've never bought it, or even looked for it. I saw some frozen duck breast last weekend in the supermarket, and was shocked to find it costs £1.53 per kg, which is cheaper than chicken breast (£2.20 per kg).

The thing is, I've never cooked one before, and I'm not that handy in the kitchen - do you guys have any recommendations, or favourite recipes?
 
I was very confused by the prices until I saw your location.

I'm sure there's lots of regional ways it's prepared but I'll give you the classic way to cook the breast.

Score the skin into the fat, I normally do lots of close cuts or a diamond pattern. Season both sides with salt and pat dry.

Place skin side down in a cold pan and put onto a medium heat, the fat will slowly render out and the skin will crisp up. Sear the outside then place skin side down again, then into a hot oven for 4-10 mins depending on how well done you like it (medium to medium rare is best imo).

Rest for a few mins then slice/serve.

Goes really well with a sweet/tart sauce, stir fried veggies, rice etc.
 
I love duck. Can't beat a huge duck breast with crispy skin. Last time I cooked it I forgot to make a sauce, so ended up throwing something together with a few damsons, some honey and a couple of sliced chilis. Actually turned out to be pretty decent.
 
Duck breast on a bed of puy lentils is pretty classic. Quite easy too.

Just don't try to rush cooking the fat out, keep it on a low heat for a long time. The last time I tried cooking it I started in a cold pan as instructed, but kept raising the heat thinking 'oh this is great the skin is going really crispy' but just ended up with burnt skin/big lump of a fat still there. It's quite tricky I think, I haven't actually cooked it like that since. I'd probably sou vide it next time.
 
I had, naively, thought ducks had better welfare conditions in the uk, versus chickens - probably living outside;
(earlier post) after we returned a tough gressingham turkey xmas before last, I'd noticed they were had up for duck welfare,
so, would be looking for rspca quality now
 
Anchundan said:
For some reason I always assumed duck breast was expensive, so I've never bought it, or even looked for it. I saw some frozen duck breast last weekend in the supermarket, and was shocked to find it costs £1.53 per kg, which is cheaper than chicken breast (£2.20 per kg).

The thing is, I've never cooked one before, and I'm not that handy in the kitchen - do you guys have any recommendations, or favourite recipes?
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Superb in currys. The duck madras from Rajdoot on Albert Sq Manchester is a thing of wonder.
 
Its expensive here.

£7/kg for whole duck vs £2.06/kg for whole chicken as per Tesco today.

I personally don't rate it much without it being cooked really well, fine line between getting that fat all rendered through and then it going dry.
 
BUDFORCE said:
I personally don't rate it much without it being cooked really well, fine line between getting that fat all rendered through and then it going dry.
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This in a sense - the opposite holds true too, not rendered long enough and you get the chewy fat. I make sure the leave it for longer than you think on the skin-side to make sure the rendering is good - I love the iron-y ness of duck from time to time with a good salad and some roast potatoes (roasted in the duck fat!).

A thermapen was a great investment here as you can cook it until the internal temp is just right - we cook ours to 135 F (57 C), it's usually about 10 minutes in a stainless steel pan on medium heat and then oven at 200 deg C for around 5 mins to get to this internal temperature (depending on the thickness).
 
jpaul said:
I had, naively, thought ducks had better welfare conditions in the uk, versus chickens - probably living outside;
(earlier post) after we returned a tough gressingham turkey xmas before last, I'd noticed they were had up for duck welfare,
so, would be looking for rspca quality now
Click to expand...

Look for Aylesbury duck as they wander all over the fields. Just to clarify, Aylesbury the town not the duck breed
 
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