I'm very fortunate to live near a French farmer who raises ducks that are sold at our local co-op. I prepared this for a small dinner party last evening. I used a combination of organic blackberry balsamic, sherry and additional chicken stock for the pan sauce -- it was heavenly.
I'm going to try it with legs/thighs. My favorite part of le canard!!!
If you haven't yet, do try duck breast prepared sous vide. It is marvelously tender and succulent. Tasty additions like berries or fresh figs in the sealed vacuum bag add all the flavors you could want and make for a terrific sauce. Searing the skin for a minute or 90 seconds on a hot cast iron pan provides a wonderful finish.
Though the duck pictured looks good, the cook could have done a much better job rendering the fat from the skin. Putting the duck skin-side down in a cold pan and slowly rendering the fat over 15 or 20 minutes over low heat (while basting the other side of the breast) will mean less chewy fat, and leaves a greater margin of error for overcooking.
1
Thanks to David Tanis' book, in which there is another wonderful recipe for magret, this has become a family staple.
The plating pic shows a little more fat than we like, and we tend to go with Thomas Keller's recipe which renders all the fat and leaves the skin crispy and delicious. Cooking more slowly on the skin side still leaves plenty of pink in the flesh. Simply flip it over and cook on the flesh side for no more than a couple of minutes, either on the stove or in a 400F oven and you get a perfect medium rare. My little one used to call it 'duck pollo' when we first served it!
The plating pic shows a little more fat than we like, and we tend to go with Thomas Keller's recipe which renders all the fat and leaves the skin crispy and delicious. Cooking more slowly on the skin side still leaves plenty of pink in the flesh. Simply flip it over and cook on the flesh side for no more than a couple of minutes, either on the stove or in a 400F oven and you get a perfect medium rare. My little one used to call it 'duck pollo' when we first served it!
2
Magret de canard in the south west of France (where it is a by product of the foie gras farms) is dry marinaded with salt, crushed garlic, peppercorns and bay (two days in a plastic box in the fridge) then roasted in a hot oven for 9-10 minutes. It is invariably eaten with allumette fries ('magret frîtes') and accompanied by chilled rosé.
3
This duck recipe is great with the addition of Chinese Five Spice Powder. I tried this last night. The spiciness added to the fruit was complex and delicious. This combination is a keeper and I will try it on chicken and port. Thank you
2
The duck in the picture looks perfectly cooked. We have duck breast from Muscovy ducks almost every week, and I always aim for this degree of doneness. From late spring to early fall I grill duck breast, with no sauce. The rest of the year I cook it in a skillet, usually with a raspberry wine vinegar sauce. But I'll have to try this one. As to the preparation of the duck, I generally only use salt and pepper, but sometimes make a spice mixture along the lines of the one here.
2
Will the "Long Island" duck substitute reasonably well? Where I live, the Muscovy is not available.
Congratulations, Mr. Tanis!
Finally there is something different from the ubiquitous chicken. I am impatiently awaiting more recipes of other representatives of class Aves that are fit for human consumption.
Finally there is something different from the ubiquitous chicken. I am impatiently awaiting more recipes of other representatives of class Aves that are fit for human consumption.
From the real close look at what is on the plate. This stuff looks like under cooked pork with all that white fat. Even if it is duck so called breast all marble, both the skin and within the meat is far less appetizing. In this day and age with all kinds of food poisoning, deadly bird flu, duck just about any verity is not an exception.
1
I guess you've never eaten magret, much less cooked it. The plating photo IS what it should look like: duck breast is completely lean muscle, with a layer of fat under the skin, and is best cooked to medium-rare (we like ours toward the rarer end of that, but too rare and you can't chew it). If you don't want to eat the fat, don't; just cut if off--it's easy as there is a very thin membrane between the muscle and the skin/fat layer, and that layer pulls off easily. But please don't make the mistake of removing the skin and fat before cooking: the fat provide the sauté medium. Cook the magret without it, and you'll have to slick the pan with some other fat before adding the duck. But it won't cook as well then; the timing will be off and the meat might dry out. And you won't have the lovely crisped skin to nibble off the fat.
Here's another suggestion: if you're so worried about food poisoning, I hear Soylent has come out with a new, less disgusting formula. (See the taste test that the NY Times staff did of the original. At best, damning with faint praise.)
Here's another suggestion: if you're so worried about food poisoning, I hear Soylent has come out with a new, less disgusting formula. (See the taste test that the NY Times staff did of the original. At best, damning with faint praise.)
10
Really? This is the classical way to cook, serve and eat a very special ingredient. If your techniques are sound and safe for handling this product and your product is of high quality from a trusted source this is perfectly safe. Do you never serve or eat steak that is less than well done for the same reasons that you said?
You should try this preparation. It is proper and very delicious.
You should try this preparation. It is proper and very delicious.
7
Well, I agree with Jeff from Albany that if you use the proper technique this is very safe and very delicious.
However, the analogy to steak is inappropriate because beef has a much lower pH than fowl, and thus there is less chance of bacterial contamination. Also, finding a quality processor and purveyor is important. A lot of bad things can happened when the bird is sacrificed.
Like everything else in life, problems are obviated by paying attention.
However, the analogy to steak is inappropriate because beef has a much lower pH than fowl, and thus there is less chance of bacterial contamination. Also, finding a quality processor and purveyor is important. A lot of bad things can happened when the bird is sacrificed.
Like everything else in life, problems are obviated by paying attention.