Duck Breast
Duck is one of my favorite meats of all time. It has a very high fat content (which leads to a juicy, savory, and flavorful result) and an awesome taste. Duck has a reputation for being "gamy", but I actually love this supposedly gamy flavor. Interestingly, I don't actually like the way duck breast is served in restaurants very much; it's often cold and not super juicy/savory. But I'm very happy with how this turned out!
Active Time: 15 min
Total Time: 20 min
Ingredients
> Duck breast
> Salt, pepper
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Using a sharp knife, score the skin of the duck in a cross pattern. Make sure the cuts penetrate all the way through the skin and fat, but not the flesh, if possible. Generously season both sides of the duck with salt and pepper.
3. Place a cast-iron skillet (or any other oven-safe pan) on the stovetop over medium heat. Place the duck breast, skin side down as soon as you place the skillet on the stovetop. Cook for around 5-6 minutes, or until the skin side is very well browned and crispy. A lot of fat will render out; remove most of the fat as it renders.
4. Flip the duck breast, and continue to cook on the other side for around 2 minutes.
5. Finish the duck in the oven for around 5-6 minutes, or to your desired doneness. This time will depend on the size of your duck breasts. I prefer my duck cooked to around medium, so I put it in the oven for around 6-8 minutes.
6. Remove it from the pan, and let it rest for at least 8 minutes.
7. Slice and serve. Enjoy!
Notes/Tips:
> Scoring the skin helps with several things. First, it allows the fat under the skin to render better. As a result, it also leads to crispier skin. Finally, it also helps prevent the skin side from buckling when cooking.
> Duck breast has a LOT of fat, and a significant amount of it will render out when cooking. Absolutely do not discard this! Remove it from the pan and reserve for later. Things cooked with rendered duck fat are absolutely amazing. In fact, many fancy grocery stores will specifically sell rendered duck fat!
> It's important to let the duck rest before slicing and serving. Otherwise, all of the delicious juices in the duck will be wrung out of the duck, and the result will be a dry piece of meat.
> This recipe is fairly simple. Many fruit sauces go very well with duck, such as orange or cherry. In this particular case, I just served it with some mashed potatoes and caramelized onions.