Seared duck breast may sound intimidating but it’s as easy as cooking a pork chop. Pat the skin dry and start cooking skin side down so that fat can melt away, leaving it brown and crispy. You can also gently score the skin to help the fat render: Use a sharp knife and cut slashes diagonally across, making sure not to cut down into the meat. Choose a medium-bodied red wine for the sauce, such as Merlot or Shiraz. Adding butter to the reduced sauce at the very end helps emulsify it as well as compliments the sweet and sour flavors— in France this sauce would be called a beurre rouge.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 5 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 45 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 6 large boneless duck breast fillets, skin on
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 cup chicken or duck stock
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 cups berries: blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Season the duck breast with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Brown the duck breast, skin side first, then flip over, reduce heat and cook other side, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the duck breasts to a platter, reserving the juices in the pan. Work in batches, if necessary.
- To make the sauce, add the balsamic vinegar and red wine to the pan and cook until reduced by half. Add the stock and reduce by half again, then add brown sugar, rosemary and berries and cook for 3 minutes. Strain into a bowl and whisk in the butter to finish. Place the duck breast on each plate and drizzle the sauce around.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 452 |
| Total Fat | 18 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 21 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 15 g |
| Protein | 43 g |
| Cholesterol | 171 mg |
| Sodium | 855 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 452 |
| Total Fat | 18 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 21 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 15 g |
| Protein | 43 g |
| Cholesterol | 171 mg |
| Sodium | 855 mg |
Reviews
I always love duck and this did not disappoint. I used raspberries for the sauce and it was absolutely delicious. I wouldn’t change a thing.
I have made this recipe many times. Absolutely delicious. Highly recommend.
I’m new to cooking and thought this was a fantastic recipe. Easy to follow and the duck came out perfect and the sauce is to die for. A nice sweet and sour type of sauce.
The sauce is really delicious. A little sweet. A little sour. I think it will be my go to for duck, steak and pork. I used a little less sugar than called for.
Awesome! The duck came out perfect and sauce accompanied the breast beautifully!
Excellent sauce – a keeper.
I brined my duck for 12 hrs, with oj added…..EXCELLENT!!!
Can’t say anything for the duck as I sous vide mine but the sauce though! I used blackberries and blueberries. Absolutely outrageous.
While the berry sauce is just great, I found the duck breast to be tougher than a $2 steak… I cooked quality duck breasts from D’Artagnan according to directions, rested them while making the sauce, and served them whole like a steak. They were medium rare, but just really, really tough. In the future, I’ll try serving the duck sliced thinly and fanned out on the plate with the sauce. The D’Artagnan breasts were about 12oz each, so perhaps smaller ones wouldn’t have the same problem. Disappointing meal, although the berry sauce went great with the wild rice side dish.
The sauce was delicious, I made it to accompany my roast duck, chose not to do just the breasts. Excellent! Sauce would also go great with a pork tenderloin, which I will try my leftover sauce on