Duck Breasts, Ducasse Style

Hello my dear friends!

We will keep on going with celebration meals today with the duck breasts, Ducasse style.

If you’re looking to change from the usual lamb leg, the chicken with morels or with Norway lobsters and any other kind of filet mignon, you will be thrilled by this recipe.

I barely cook duck. Its strong taste doesn’t suit everyone, especialy the children.

But I wanted to give it a try, because I do love duck… 😉 So I took my Ducasse encyclopedia, the bible of cook books if there should be one…

And I found this recipe as easy to cook as it is delicious to eat!

To make sure to have a full success with your duck breasts, Ducasse style, I strongly recommend to make sure to buy high quality ingredients: get good duck breasts from your butcher in order to have a tasty, delicate and tender meat. Also choose good honey and balsamic vinegar.

The original Chef’s recipe mentions raspberry vinegar which I didn’t have, so I went for the balsamic one. Another change from Alain Ducasse’s recipe: I switched Juniper berries and cardamon ones by Sichuan pepper berries. Finally I decided to mix mapple syrup and honey instead of using only honey.

You know me, I just can’t help it… 🙂

For the rest of the instructions, it’s rather simple. You will first grill the meat in a frying pan, and finish cooking in the oven. Easy.

Then you will prepare a concentrated sauce that will sublimate your duck breasts. As far as side dishes are concerned, you have plenty of options. You can have the usual pastas, fried potatoes, mashed potatoes, mashed parsnips or even my mashed celery with bacon. Or you can choose something a little bit more elaborate such as my roasted cauliflower with spices, my roasted asparagus, my roasted Brussel sprouts or a luke warm carrot salad. That’s what I did here, the recipe will soon be posted on the blog. 😉

The utensils:

A large frying pan for the duck breasts,

An oven dish,

And a small sauce pan with thick bottom (if possible) for the sauce.

And before sharing the recipe, you have to know that this recipe can be made in 30 minutes. Not bad for a celebration meal don’t you think?

Let’s do this!

The recipe, Chef!

Print Recipe

Duck Breasts, Ducasse Style

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Serves: 4-5 Difficulty: Easy Price: $$

Cooking Time: 30-40 min

Ingredients

• 2 duck breasts
• 20 g honey (flower honey if possible)
• 20 g mapple syrup (or honey)
• 8 Sichuan pepper berries
• 2 cloves
• 50 g balsamic vinegar
• Ground ginger
• Espelette pepper
• Salt
• Pepper

Instructions

1

Prepare the duck breasts: remove the waste parts and lightly score the skins of the duck breasts with a sharp knife.

2

Add salt and pepper.

3

Heat the frying pan without fat. Lay the duck breasts, skin side down, and cook until skin is golden.

4

Set aside in a plate and add 1/3 glass of water in the frying pan to deglaze. Set aside in a bowl.

5

Preheat your oven at 180 degrees.

6

Heat the mapple syrup in a small sauce pan at medium heat, add the pepper berries, cloves, 2-3 pinches of ground ginger and a pinch of Espelette pepper.

7

When your mixture is liquid, add the balsamic vinegar, mix.

8

Add the duck juice and pepper, cook with lid at low heat, mix from time to time.

9

Lay the duck breasts, skin side up, in your oven dish. Spread honey. (Add any juices from the resting duck to the sauce.)

10

Cook in the oven for 10 minutes (cut in the center to check if the meat is pink as expected).

11

Cut the breasts in slices and serve with a tablespoon of sauce.