Pan Roasted Duck Breast Recipes

PAN ROASTED DUCK BREAST

Steps:

• Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Score the skin of the duck breasts and season them lightly with salt and pepper. Add 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil to the skillet and put in the duck breasts, skin side down. Cook slowly, rendering the fat, until the duck skin is golden and crisp, about 5 to 6 minutes. Turn the duck breasts over and cook them in the duck fat for 2 minutes. Remove the duck breasts from the pan to a plate, cover them with foil, and let them rest for 5 minutes.
• After the duck has rested, return them to the skillet, skin side down, over medium heat. Spoon the duck fat over the breasts until they are just heated through. The skin should be crispy and duck meat should be pink in color. Transfer to a cutting board.
• In another medium skillet over medium-high heat, add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the pancetta and cook until it begins to color, about 5 minutes. Add the shallot and garlic and cook until they are soft, about 5 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and add in the spinach and the frisee. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, then add the hazelnuts and toss the greens gently to coat them with the oil. Cook the greens until just wilted, about 2 minutes.
• To serve, divide the greens onto 2 plates and garnish with the chives. Slice the duck breasts and fan them over the greens. Spoon the Razz Cherry Garlic Glaze across the duck and garnish with chervil.
• Combine the red wine, grenadine, vinegar, and sugar in a saucepan over high heat and bring it to a boil. Peel and slice the garlic as thinly as possible. Add the garlic and razz cherries to the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Continue to cook until the sauce is reduced and syrupy, about 15 minutes.
• Yield: about 1 cup

PAN-SEARED DUCK BREAST WITH BLUEBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl mix together the salt, ground black pepper, thyme, and rosemary; set aside. This will be your spice blend for seasoning the roasted potatoes and the duck breasts.
• Place cubed potatoes into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of your spice blend over the top of the potatoes. Toss the potatoes in the pan until they are evenly coated with oil and seasonings. Spread into a single layer across the bottom of the baking dish and bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven.
• While the potatoes are roasting, stir together the blueberries, water, apple juice, sugar, and jalapeno in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low, and simmer until the mixture has reduced to the consistency of syrup, about 10 minutes.
• Cook the pancetta in a large skillet over medium heat until crispy. Remove the pancetta to drain on a paper towel, leaving the drippings in the skillet. Add the shallots and the mushrooms to the hot skillet; stir and cook them until soft and just beginning to brown. Remove the shallots and mushrooms and set aside. Increase heat to medium-high and place the bok choy in the hot skillet. Stir and cook the bok choy until the leaves are wilted and the white stalk pieces are tender, about 5 minutes. Return the shallots, mushrooms, and pancetta to the skillet, turn off the heat and set aside.
• Rinse the duck breast halves and pat dry. Rub the remaining spice blend onto both sides of the duck breasts. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat, when the pan is hot put in the vegetable oil and butter. Immediately place the duck breasts in the pan, skin and fat side down. Do not move the duck breasts until the skin is deep brown, about 5 minutes. Turn the breasts and cook until the internal temperature of the thickest part is 160 degrees F (71 degrees C) for well done. Remove the duck from the pan and place on a plate, covered with foil to rest for 5 minutes. While the duck is resting, place the skillet with the bok choy mixture onto a burner over medium heat to warm through.
• Slice each duck breast diagonally into 1/2 inch strips. Divide the bok choy mixture among four plates and drizzle each serving with 1/2 tablespoon of aged balsamic vinegar. Arrange the sliced duck breasts on top of the bok choy mixture; ladle on blueberry sauce. Serve with oven-roasted potatoes on the side.

MARINATED PAN- ROASTED DUCK BREASTS

Steps:

• For marinade: Combine wine, soy sauce, garlic, tarragon and pepper in a shallow bowl large enough to contain both breasts side by side.
• Marinate the breasts overnight.
• Just before cooking, strain marinade liquid into saucepan.
• Heat a large saute pan without any oil.
• Score the fatty side of each breast several times.
• Pan-roast breasts, FAT-side down for about 2 minutes.
• Turn to flesh side, and cook another 10 minutes.
• Remove from saute pan to cutting board.
• At the same time as you are cooking the breasts, bring marinade to boil, adding butter and sherry.
• Boil vigorously 5 minutes or until slightly reduced and beginning to thicken.
• Slice breast thinly on the bias, away from the fat.
• Return the slices BRIEFLY to the hot saute pan to brown.
• By this I mean literally lay each slice in the pan, immediately turn it over, and remove.
• This will cook the duck medium rare.
• Serve with sauce.

GARLIC ROASTED DUCK BREAST

Steps:

• Place duck breast skin side-down on a cutting board. Cut a small slit from top to bottom, 2/3 of the way through the duck breast. Season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Place duck breast skin side-down in the hot skillet; cook until browned, about 30 seconds. Flip and repeat on the other side.
• Transfer duck breast to a clean work surface, skin-side down. Place 3 or 4 garlic strips inside the slit. Place rosemary sprig over garlic; top with remaining garlic strips. Place skin side-up in a baking pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 120 degrees F (50 degrees C), about 10 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

PAN-ROASTED DUCK WITH WILD MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Rinse dried mushrooms to remove sand or dirt and place in a bowl. Cover with boiling water and let steep for 30 minutes.
• Lay duck breasts skin-side down on a cutting board. With your fingers, remove the thin tenderloins from the underside of each breast and reserve for sauce. With a sharp knife, trim away any gristle. Turn breasts skin-side up and trim excess fat from the edges. Score the skins in a diamond pattern. Season generously with salt and pepper, transfer to a plate and leave at cool room temperature for 1 hour.
• Put olive oil in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the reserved tenderloins and brown well on both sides. Add butter and flour to pan, and cook, stirring, until mixture is lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add soaked mushrooms and soaking liquid, and stir well as sauce begins to thicken. Add wine, thyme and bay leaf, turn heat to low, and simmer gently until gravylike, but not too thick, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and discard tenderloins, thyme and bay leaf. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning. Keep warm. (Sauce may be prepared several hours or up to 2 days in advance.)
• Set a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, add duck breasts to skillet skin-side down and let sizzle. Lower heat to medium and cook for about 7 or 8 minutes, making sure skin doesn't brown too quickly. (This will render fat and crisp the skin.) Turn breasts over and cook 3 minutes more for rare (thermometer should read 120 degrees), or 4 to 5 minutes for medium-rare (thermometer should read 125 degrees). Transfer to a warm platter and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Pour off all but 2 tablespoons rendered fat from the pan, and raise heat to medium-high. Add sliced mushrooms and sauté, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, letting them brown nicely. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off heat and stir in garlic and parsley.
• Slice duck 1/4-inch thick, crosswise at a slight angle, and serve immediately. Each serving should have 4 to 5 slices of duck, a large spoonful of mushrooms and a bit of sauce.

BASIC ROAST DUCK BREAST

Steps:

• Score fat on duck breast in criss-cross pattern at one-inch intervals.
• Mix the five-spice powder, honey, soy sauce and lemon juice together in a dish, brush the mixture over both sides of the duck breasts and place the breasts in a dish. Cover and allow to marinate at least an hour at room temperature or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator, whichever is more convenient.
• Preheat oven to 175 degrees.
• Heat large, heavy skillet, preferably nonstick, to very hot. Remove duck breasts from marinade, reserving marinade for sauce, if desired. Place duck breasts in the skillet skin side down and sear for about two minutes, just until the skin is well browned. Remove the duck breasts from the skillet. Pour all the fat out of the skillet (reserve the fat for the sauce or other cooking, if you wish). Return the duck breasts to the skillet skin side up and cook for about a minute, just until the meat is seared.
• Transfer the duck breasts skin side up to a baking dish that will hold them in a single layer. Place in the oven for about an hour. By this time the duck breasts will be uniformly pink throughout. They can remain in the oven as long as two hours and can sit warming even longer if the oven is turned off after two hours. The recipe can also be expanded for as many duck breasts as you need.
• To serve, slice the duck breasts on an angle, into slices a quarter to a half-inch thick. Array on a platter and serve.