Duck breast
Preparing duck breast the right way can often be a challenge for many people. The perfect duck breast is soft and juicy on the inside, yet has a crispy skin.
Many people make duck breasts by frying them only in a pan. I usually combine frying in a pan with baking in the oven. For the first few minutes, I fry the duck breasts in a pan to remove the fat from the skin, then I put the pan in the oven for a few more minutes to allow the meat to cook.
When making duck breasts in this way, I always try sticking to the time the meat should spend in the pan and the oven. Duck meat is easy to dry, extra minutes can make it dry and tough.
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Ingredients for duck breast.
- 2 medium-sized duck breasts with skin (420 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
How to make duck breast.
Carefully score the skin in several places with a knife, sprinkle with pepper and salt and set aside for 30 minutes. Lay the breasts in a frying pan with the skin side down, then put it on a medium heat and fry for 7 minutes. After that, turn it over, increase the heat to high and fry for a minute. Right after that, transfer the pan in an oven preheated to 200 degrees Celsius for 6 minutes. After removing the breast from the oven, let the meat rest for 10 minutes.
Good to know when making duck breast.
Once removed from the fridge, duck breasts should be dried with a paper towel.
For frying, use a cast iron or steel pan. These pans are the best for searing the meat.
It is important that you put the meat on a cold pan, and not an already warm one. If you put it on a preheated frying pan, the fat from the skin will not render out.
If you use bigger duck breasts, when frying them in a pan, make sure that the skin is crispy after 7 minutes. If not, hold it for an additional minute. The same goes for the oven. Bigger duck breasts will take around 8 minutes in the oven.
If the pan which you are using has a plastic handle, finish the cooking of the duck in the oven on a baking tray. Remember, however, that the tray should be hot when you put the duck on it.
The leftover duck fat can be used to prepare fried potatoes or to make lard spread (if there is quite a lot of it).
Do you like duck recipes? If so, try our recipe for Roasted duck legs.
