Duck Breast with Orange Sauce
Duck breast rendered from a cold pan until the skin is crisp, with a pan sauce of orange, honey and vinegar.
45 min
2 servings
Difficulty 4/5
Lunch · Dinner
Prep 15 min · Cook 30 min
The cold-pan start is not fussiness — duck skin carries a thick layer of fat that has to melt slowly before the skin can crisp, and a preheated pan browns the outside while that fat is still solid underneath. The sauce is built in the same pan, so nothing is wasted.
Per serving
429
kcal / serving
Ingredients
Written for 2 servings. Change the servings to rescale every amount.
Duck
Duck Breast, skinless
2 fillets (320 grams)
Salt
to taste
Black Pepper
to taste
Orange sauce
Orange
2 medium (262 grams)
Honey
1 tablespoon (21 grams)
Red Wine Vinegar
1 tablespoon (15 grams)
Chicken Stock
200 milliliters
Butter
20 grams
To serve
Green Beans
250 grams
Steps
Score the skin in a criss-cross about 3 mm apart, cutting through the fat but not into the meat. The cuts let the fat run out; without them the skin stays soft.
6 min
Salt the skin well and lay the breasts skin down in a cold, dry pan. Only then turn the heat to medium. Starting cold is the whole technique — a hot pan seizes the skin before the fat under it has melted.
3 min
Cook them skin down 12 minutes, pouring the fat off into a cup two or three times as it collects. The skin should end up flat, thin and deep gold.
12 min
Turn them and cook 3 minutes on the meat side, then move them to a warm plate.
4 min
Rest them 10 minutes. Duck breast is served pink, at about 55 °C in the middle.
10 min
Pour all but a spoonful of the fat out of the pan. Add the honey and the vinegar and let them bubble 40 seconds.
2 min
Add the juice of both oranges and the stock and boil it down by two thirds, about 6 minutes, until it coats a spoon.
6 min
Take the pan off the heat and swirl in the cold butter. Butter worked in off the heat thickens the sauce; boiled in, it splits.
2 min
Boil the green beans 5 minutes. Slice the duck across at an angle and pour the sauce over.
7 min
Serving suggestion
Keep the rendered fat in a jar. It is the best thing you will ever roast potatoes in.
Storage
Two days in the fridge. Slice it cold into a salad rather than reheating it.
Notes
A thermometer takes the guesswork out: 52 °C off the heat lands at 55 °C after the rest.
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