Duck Breasts have become a staple in many of the better restaurants and pubs we love to eat at. Duck Breasts are easy to cook and are a delicious way to introduce more poultry into your diet.

Most of my friends think that Duck Breast is too difficult to make at home and wouldn’t even know where to begin. The truth of the matter is, it’s just not that difficult to make and duck is actually very versatile and can be served many different ways.

From Prep to finish, this pan-seared duck breast (with the vegetables) can be on your dinner table in about 45 minutes.

Prep Time

    •    Prep time: 10 minutes
    •    Cook time: 20 minutes
    •    Yield: Serves 2

Ingredients

    •    1 tbsp flour
    •    1 tbsp duck fat
    •    sea salt to taste
    •    2 tbsps maple syrup
    •    2 cups baby spinach
    •    black pepper to taste
    •    12 pearl onions peeled
    •    4 ounces chicken stock
    •    2 x 7.5 ounce duck breasts, boneless
    •    2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
    •    1 tsp Italian parsley, finely chopped (Optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Season duck breast liberally with sea salt and black pepper.
3. Place the duck breasts, fat side down, in a cold skillet to render off the fat over medium heat.
4. Sear the duck breast for 8-10 minutes, trying not to move it until its time to turn it over.
5. When the skin of the duck breast looks crispy and is a nice shade of dark golden brown drain off the duck fat from the pan and reserve for later use.
6. Turn the duck breast over to sear on the other side for 4-6 minutes.
7. Place the duck breast in a preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until the desired doneness has been reached.
8. Remove from oven when the desired doneness has been reached and allow the cooked duck breast to rest for about 5 minutes before slicing.

For Pan Gravy:

1. In the pan that you seared the duck breasts add back a tablespoon of the reserved duck fat.  Add in 1 tablespoon of flour to make a roux.
2. Allow the roux to cook for 1-2 minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste.  The roux can get dark brown, as this will help the color of the pan gravy.
3. Add chicken stock to the roux until and cook over low heat until the gravy has thickened slightly.  Don't allow it to thicken completely as you will want to reheat the gravy right before you serve the duck.
4. Taste the pan gravy and season as needed.

For sweet potatoes:

1. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into chunky pieces that are still somewhat bite size.
2. peel pearl onions and add to bowl with sweet potato chunks.
3. Coat sweet potatoes and onions with a little olive oil and season with sea salt and black pepper to taste.
4. Place vegetables on a foil-lined sheet pan and roast at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  (if you start this about the same time as you start searing the duck they should be done just at the right time).
5. Remove vegetables from oven, place in mixing bowl or saute pan. Add spinach and maple syrup.  Re-season with sea salt and black pepper if desired. Toss mixture to wilt the spinach and coat the veggies with the maple syrup.

For assembly:

1. Place cooked vegetables on serving a dish.
2. Slice duck breast and place on top of the vegetable mixture.
3. Add pan gravy around the inside edge of the serving dish, not directly on the vegetables or duck, but around it.
4. Sprinkle with chopped Italian parsley to garnish if desired and serve.

This great family recipe is thanks to Ask Chef Dennis at https://www.askchefdennis.com/pan-seared-duck-breast/