Perfect Pan-Seared Duck Breasts with Port Wine Sauce
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This duck breast recipe comes together so quickly, looks so beautiful, and is so tasty: perfectly crisp skin and flesh medium-rare. The sauce is restaurant caliber. Date night at home? Open a bottle of wine and start cooking!
Several weeks ago, I had dinner at Otway in Brooklyn. Chef Claire Welle prepared a fall meal in collaboration with Le Creuset and Cherry Bombe in anticipation of the now-released Le Creuset Cookbook and tableware collection. Of the many memorable dishes Claire cooked for the event, several came from the Le Creuset Cookbook itself, including one of my favorites of the evening: duck breast with banyuls gastrique.
As I swiped each piece of duck through the ruby red sauce pooling on the plate, I remember thinking: Only in a restaurant is duck ever this good, the meat this perfectly cooked, the sauce this flavorful. When I turned to the recipe in the Le Creuset Cookbook, I expected to see a list of elusive ingredients and a note saying: sous-vide machine required.
On the contrary, the recipe looked simple, the sauce requiring three ingredients, the duck an oven-proof skillet. I was intrigued by the technique, too:
“Instead of slapping the duck into a screaming hot skillet, scored breasts are placed skin-side down in a cold pan, slowly brought up to temperature, and left undisturbed until they render copious amounts of delicious fat and the skin turns deep brown and crisp.”
Cold. Pan. Did you catch that?
I’ve now made the dish complete with fancy sauce and thyme-roasted grapes several times, and every time I am surprised by how quickly it comes together, how impressive it looks, and how tasty it is. I’ve never cooked better duck at home, with skin beautifully crisp, flesh medium rare, the sauce restaurant caliber. What’s more? It turns out the secret to perfectly cooked duck at home is also the key to not smoking out your house. Win win.
What is a Gastrique?
In short: it’s a delicious Port wine sauce. Moreover: it’s nothing to be intimidated by.
If you’ve made a caramel sauce — and even if you haven’t — you can make a gastrique. Here’s the basic process:
- Melt sugar with water in a small saucepan, and cook it until it turns pale gold.
- Add vinegar (Banyuls, if you can find it, red wine, if you cannot).
- Add fortified wine (Banyuls, if you can find it, Ruby Port, if you cannot.)
- Simmer until the sauce reduces to a consistency that will coat the back of a spoon.
As the sauce simmers, it reduces into an irresistibly sweet-sharp syrup, tasting like an expensive aged vinegar. In the end, you will feel you have a pot of gold on your hands, a sauce to make anything better.
With the sauce done, there is nothing tricky about the dish. When the breasts are finished cooking, they, like all meat, must rest, at which point you throw a handful of grapes and a few sprigs of thyme into the now-empty pan and then toss the pan into the oven. Genius! Just the distraction you need to keep you from slicing the duck prematurely.
Duck is rich, like steak, so I’ve been serving the breasts with a simple green salad dressed with a shallot vinaigrette and bread, of course. This meal is dinner-party worthy though weeknight (if you like to do it up) friendly — if you make the sauce ahead of time, the meal comes together in about 20 minutes.
How to Make a Gastrique (Port Wine Sauce)
- Gather your ingredients: sugar, vinegar, Ruby port or Banyuls:
2. Caramelize the sugar:
3. Add the vinegar, at which point, the sugar will harden, and you will feel you are doing it all wrong…
4. …but after a brief simmer, the sugar will melt, you’ll add the Port or Banyuls and simmer for 10 more minutes, at which point the sauce will begin coating the back of a spoon, a sign you have a most delicious, sweet-sharp syrup in the house… woot woot!
How to Make Perfect Pan-Seared Duck Breasts
- Score four duck breasts.
2. Place them in a cold skillet. (This, by the way, is my new favorite pan. It’s 5 qts, which is to say it can fit a lot of food at one time. Moreover, it distributes heat evenly, it cleans like a dream, it’s oven-safe, and it’s nice to look at to boot. Seen previously here and here.)
3. Render the fat, then cook until…
4. … the skin is crisp and in instant-read thermometer — can’t say enough about my Thermapen — registers around 130ºF for medium rare. Transfer duck breasts to a plate to rest.
5. Add grapes and thyme to the pan and roast while the duck rests.
6. Spoon grapes and gastrique over breasts, then …
… gather your favorite people around the table.
PrintPerfect Pan-Seared Duck Breast with Roasted Grapes & Gastrique
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: Serves 4
Description
Adapted from the Le Creuset cookbook (pronounced l’uh • cru • say)
A few notes:
This summer I invested in a good instant-read thermometer: a Thermapen. I can’t recommend this tool enough. Duck breasts in particular have been a challenge for me to cook — so many times I’ve pulled them from the heat, let them rest, only to cut into them to find flesh too rare or way overcooked. What is hard about cooking meat like steaks or duck breast is that when you get that good sear, it’s misleading — the meat may feel firm to the touch, but you might only be feeling your nice sear … what lies beneath is a guess. The Thermapen takes the guesswork out.
I do not use the star anise, because the first time I made this, I didn’t have any on hand, and I absolutely loved the flavor of the sauce as it was, so I’ve since omitted it. I imagine a single star anise would impart a very nice, subtle spice to the sauce, so absolutely use it if you have one on hand.
Finally, if you have a hard time finding duck, D’artagnan is a great source. I’ve sampled all of the duck varieties they sell. The Muscovy is the tastiest. It’s pricey, but if you think about what it costs to eat duck breast out at a restaurant, it’s not so bad.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup Banylus vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup Banylus fortified wine or ruby port
- 1 star anise pod, optional
- 4 boneless duck breast halves with skin
- kosher salt to taste
- fresh cracked black pepper to taste
- 1.5 cups halved red seedless grapes
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (or a few sprigs if you are lazy)
- 1 cup loosely packed mâche or watercress leaves, optional
Instructions
For the gastrique:
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, cook the sugar and water, swirling gently until the sugar dissolves and the mixture turns a pale golden color, 8 to 10 minutes. Lift the pan from the heat and pour in the vinegar. The caramel will bubble vigorously and possibly seize and harden. Return the pan to the heat and cook until the caramel is melted and smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the wine and star anise, if using. Simmer until the liquid reduces to thin syrup, about 10 minutes. Discard the star anise. Keep the gastrique warm over very low heat until ready to use.
For the duck breasts:
- Blot the duck breasts dry. Use a sharp knife to score the fat of each in a diamond pattern, taking care not to cut into the meat. Season both sides of each breast generously with salt and pepper, then place them skin side down in a large, cold skillet. Place the skillet over low heat and cook for 3 minutes. Increase the heat to medium, and continue cooking until the duck begins to sizzle. Continue cooking undisturbed until the skin is browned, crisp, and has rendered most of its fat, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Heat oven to 350ºF.
- Spoon off and reserve the fat from the skillet. Flip over the breasts and transfer the skillet to the oven. Alternatively, flip the breast and cook stovetop until the breast registers 125ºF-130ºF. I prefer finishing the breasts stovetop as I feel I have more control/vision on when the breasts look done, at which point I test with my instant-read thermometer. For me it’s been about 2 minutes on the second side. If you place pan in oven, roast for 2 to 4 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 125ºF-135ºF — Note: I find 125ºF-130ºF to be about right for medium rare. Transfer breasts to a plate to rest.
- Add the grapes to the skillet and toss with the thyme and a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until the grapes are hot and wrinkled in spots, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Transfer breasts to plate, spoon grapes over top. Spoon sauce over top. Top with a small handful of mâche, if using, and serve immediately.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: French
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
365 Comments on “Perfect Pan-Seared Duck Breasts with Port Wine Sauce”
I am turning 65 next month and have never eaten or prepared duck breast. I would love for this to be my initiation into preparing duck! This is a “must try” for me!
I’ve only had duck a few times and it was delicious! I may have to try this. Thank you for the recipe.
This recipe sounds amazing and easy… can’t wait to try it!
Love the flavor combination here and love Le Creuset! Thank you for the opportunity!
Awesome! Thanks for posting this Ali.
I miss your meat recipes.I’m still hopeful you will do venison or rabbit or other game meat.
You do it so well. =}
PS Great give away…. I thought October was Fair Trade month?
I love duck and have always been disappointed by the results I get when I make it myself. I’ll have to try this!
Duck is something I never consider making at home, but my father-in-law is coming for a visit soon and he loves duck, and this recipe does seem pretty fool-proof. I will have to give it a try. Please enter me in the giveaway! I’ve been meaning to purchase pasta bowls for the family and would love this.
Beautiful! I have had a lot of subpar duck in my day, but this recipe is inspiring me to try to cook it at home. This seems like a very approachable method!
Are you sure this recipe is achievable by mere mortals? My only home duck experience was one that my husband brought home from the wild and then put into a gumbo…it was a little strong. However, duck confit from a fine restaurant…divine. Not sure I can get duck breasts in these parts, but will take a look next time I’m at the grocery store. That is a gorgeous pan and looks very functional, too. Your Brooklyn experience sounds amazing.
Wow! Love duck breat. This one looks great…a must try. That book would be a great companion to my cast iron pieces.
Really, considering what a big pasta fan that I am, I’ve never bought a pasta bowl set. I have though about doing so just about every year.
Thanks for the great recipe.
Thank you for the giveaway!
Looks delicious!!
Yum! Love cooking with Le Crueset and can imagine their cookbook is just as good.
My results with Duck have been less than stellar. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I am on my way to getting the ingredients to make this.
Mmmmm…duck. So good. Will have to give this a go the next time I see duck breast at the market. Also, Le Creuset. I’ve had my dutch oven for 25 years and it’s the one kitchen tool I can not do without.
Wonderful “I can do that” recipe. Duck is more expensive so it brings hesitation to trying something new, and yet, it is just poultry, and is as deserving as a simple, delicious roasted chicken. Encouraging us that gastrique is just a word for a procedure (much like mise en place) was funny and a welcome reminder that we do what a lot of cultures do, but they somehow say it with mystery!
We gifted our daughter and her husband Le Creuset pans for their wedding and kept asking her to choose to a color — finally we said if you don’t choose a color it will be an M & M- colored kitchen! She choose the M&Ms! Her 5 qt purple braiser is also a favorite & her husband’s orange! dutch oven is always in use. Keep enticing us!!
Looks delicious! I’m making this soon: )
Of course, everything you make looks so amazing! Beautiful, elegant yet simple.
could always use new serving ware and a cook book in my life 😉
also…when I was growing up my mom would make something similar to this..but it was with chicken breast and green grapes…it was so delicious. been wanting to make it for years….
thanks for sharing
It’s finally cooled off enough here in Texas to enjoy an Autumn evening on the patio. This will be the perfect dinner to celebrate under the stars
I’m making this recipe this weekend! I love Le Creuset and would be so happy to win!
I am into easy, and this sounds really good . Now retired and have more time to play in the kitchen. Thanks for the recipe.
thank you for the giveaway!!
Alexandra–
At what temperature do you set the oven to roast if you choose that method? I may have missed it above, but ‘roasting’ is often 375 to 425 – Thanks.
interesting recipe. I hate duck a la orange so I look for other options. The only other duck I had was cooked in sauerkraut and I think wine, which I loved. I used to order that from a restaurant that is now closed and wish I could find a recipe for it.
Yum! I love your recipes. I cook them regularly and share them widely.
I’ve never prepared duck before, perhaps with this recipe I will be brave enough to do so. Thank you
I just ordered the new Le Creuset cookbook you are featuring here yesterday! I cannot wait to get it and start cooking all those delicious recipes like the one you featured! Le Creuset has such wonderful products and now with their cookbooks we can truly immerse ourselves in the entire Le Creuset experience Thank you for this wonderful opportunity to win their pasta set. It truly looks beautiful!!.
I’ve never done duck but am now inspired to try!
Duck is my favorite, thank you, will definitely be testing out.
ps Love the blog!
I have only tried duck a long time ago and didn’t like it, but I was still a kid and would love to give it another try. Thank you for the great new recipe. By the way, I just ordered your book and I am in love!!!!