With a friend joining us for dinner, we decided to cook something together that none of us have cooked before. Our guest suggested pan-seared duck breast -- magret de canard -- which he ate more than once during a recent visit to France. We chose the simplest possible meat preparation and a relatively simple raspberry-based sauce. (Although we could only find frozen duck breasts, which we had to thaw quickly in the microwave, that did not obviously harm the outcome.)First, score the breasts on the skin side in a crosshatch pattern. Brush the meat with olive oil, rub some salt and pepper into it, and place the pieces onto a hot oven-proof skillet skin-side down. (We melted butter first, but that seemed unnecessary as the meat exudes a lot of fat.) Sear for 7-8 minutes at medium-high heat, pouring off excess fat occasionally. Turn the meat over (you will need good tongs for that) and place the skillet in the 450°F/230°C oven, for another 5-7 minutes, depending on how you like your meat cooked. (The piece that we left there for 8 minutes was overcooked by most standards.) Keep in mind that, if you let it rest, the meat continues to cook even at room temperature. Expect some pink inside when you slice it before serving.
To make the sauce, we poured most of the fat off the skillet and deglazed it with a splash of white wine. After reducing the wine for a few minutes, we added beef stock and chopped raspberries and reduced the liquid further, until it got thick and raspberry seeds started sticking to the bottom.
- duck breasts
- olive oil, for brushing
- salt and pepper, ditto
- 2 Tbsp duck fat, rendered during searing
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 cup beef stock
- 30 raspberries, chopped