| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 45 min |
| Active: | 10 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- Four 6-ounce boneless duck breasts, skin scored in crosshatches, at room temperature
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 shallot, minced
- 3/4 cup dry sherry
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/4 cup fig jam
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
- Fresh chives, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- For the duck breasts: Sprinkle each duck breast liberally with salt and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat. Add the duck skin-side down and reduce the heat to low, cooking as the fat slowly renders and the skin becomes crispy, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Once the skin is crispy and golden brown, flip and continue cooking until a thermometer reads 128 to 130 degrees F when inserted into the thickest part of the breast (for medium-rare doneness), 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate or cutting board and allow to rest about 5 minutes. It will carryover cook to about 135 degrees F. Don’t tent with foil in order to ensure the duck skin will stay crispy.
- For the fig sauce: Pour off all but 1 or 2 tablespoons of fat from the skillet, reserving the excess for another use. Over medium heat, add the shallots and cook until softened. Add the sherry and reduce by half. Next, add the chicken broth, fig jam and balsamic vinegar, and continue simmering until the sauce has thickened and is syrupy, another 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper and whisk in the butter. Garnish with chopped chives.
- Serve the sauce alongside thinly sliced duck breast.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 303 |
| Total Fat | 11 g |
| Saturated Fat | 5 g |
| Carbohydrates | 24 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 14 g |
| Protein | 21 g |
| Cholesterol | 86 mg |
| Sodium | 792 mg |
Reviews
Thanks for such a clear method with this recipe, it helped me in my quest to improve my at-home duck results. This is divine and was a worthy use of some precious homemade fig jam.
Fantastic and super easy!
This duck breast is so delicious and easy to make. Delicious fig sauce isn’t as sweet as it sounds and is the perfect balance to the well seasoned duck. We make it often.
Fabulous recipe for fig and duck lovers
I’ve been looking for a recipe that would help me recreate a memorable dish I had in this gem of a place in Paris, called Le Parc Auf Cerf and I think I found it. This is fantastic! It is really important to sear the duck breast skin really well to render the fat. The fig sauce would taste amazing with duck fat. Pair with green beans tossed in a simple dressing topped with toasted nuts, like hazelnut. Thank you, Kelsey!