The fat is not optional
I love duck, but it is so unhealthy that I rarely make it at home and usually just have it at a restaurant as a treat. Katherine recently went to a new butcher shop and along with some other treats she bought a duck breast. So I whipped up this little recipe and remembered why duck is so good.
The sauce and the rare meat mixed with the duck fat is incredible. I recommend opening a really nice bottle of wine and serving this with garlic mashed potatoes and spinach wilted in brown butter. After all it already is unhealthy so you might as well go full boar and clog a few arteries.
Duck Breast in a White Peppercorn Cream Sauce
- 1 duck breast
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tsp white peppercorns
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
- Salt/pepper
Salt and pepper duck. In a large frying pan melt butter. Place duck breast fat side down and cook over medium heat for about five minutes or until browned. Flip breast and cook until browned on top, about three minutes. Flip back on fat side and cook until rare, about three minutes more. Remove from heat and let rest 10 minutes. Pour off all but three tablespoons fat. Add peppercorns and cook on medium high heat until they begin to pop. Add garlic and cook for one minute. Add cream and rosemary and reduce by half. Slice duck and plate it fat side up drizzled in sauce.
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This sounds so decadent! I love the rosemary in the sauce. Yum!
I love duck and I have only cooked it once. The amount of fat that was rendered from me trying to crisp the skin (because let’s face it, that’s the best part) was frightening ! But also ever so delicious.
Reblogged this on leo life and commented:
This looks delicious. I want to make this!
Wow Greg thats a perfectly cooked duck breast
Gorgeous, I adore duck but it is a rare treat!
It is really fatty but you’re right, it’s very good. That sauce looks wonderful too.
Oh how sumptuous. Delicious!
Duck fat is supposed to contain oleic acid, which is the same as in olive oil. I am sceptical about all food claims – negative and positive, but we were told for years that margarine was healthier than butter. Anyway, duck’s delicious and I eat it as often as possible.
I have never made duck breasts, I order it in restaurants all the time, I love it…maybe it’s time I conquer this! Great recipe, great sauce! YUM 🙂
There’s nothing unhealthy about it at all…fats are important in our diets. Twinkies and other not-foods? THOSE are unhealthy…
Love the sauce!
Until we do something about the ventilation of our new kitchen, there will be NO duck breast cooked in our home. But, I love duck, and yours was cooked to perfection! 1 cup of heavy cream… be still my heart, be still 😉
Looks very good and moist! By the way, duck fat is not that bad for you. In fact, 73% of fatty acids found in duck fat are unsaturated, so it is somewhere between butter and olive oil. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/951374
The last time I had food poisoning, was in Mexico from eating duck. Still haven’t gotten my taste back for duck, but yours sure looks delicious!
This sounds sumptuous – a perfect duck dish.
Oh dear – I didn’t know it was bad for me! I managed to (quite happily) have duck twice in one day a few months ago… I love it and this looks beautiful *and* delicious! Is the fat the problem? Or is there something else going on (that I don’t really want to know about…)? In any event – mmmmmmm!!!
Looks delicious! I can’t wait to try it!
I like the sound of the peppercorn cream sauce!
Duck is absolutely one of my favorite dishes. It’s sooooooo good! Love what you’ve done with this one.
Go full boar! Gladly!
This sounds heavenly – I rarely cook duck at home (hazard of living near so many excellent Chinese restaurants) but this looks like one worth visiting the butcher for!
That looks like something we could have eaten in Paris! So yummy. I never did get a chance to eat foie gras!
I like how you think, Greg. You might as well clog a few arteries while you’re at it. I’ve never cooked duck at home. It’s just too expensive around here to do so when you’re afraid of making a mistake and ruining it. So, I spend twice the price to have it served to me at a restaurant. I probably should rethink this plan.
the peppercorn sauce sounds fantastic with the duck or anything really
Oh my…so incredibly decadent!
I enjoy duck, but Hubster refuses to go duck hunting. Sounds like a perfect autumn dinner!
Recently, in Normandy, I thought I was buying a duck breast, but when I got home thought, “oh my, that’s really big.” Yup, it was a goose breast. Also really good. Your duck looks great!
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First off; Duck is definitely NOT bad for you. Duck fat is next to goose fat. It is a healthy fat.
That is that sorted.
OK, I live in France, so duck is cheap (a full Magret or breast will set you back about €5.00, $5.50 or £ 3.50!)
It is the sort of dish we eat at least once a fortnight, and is so easy to cook! So versatile and so tasty.
All you ditherers out there, gird your loins, get to the butcher or supermarket, splash some cash and give yourselves a real treat.
Duck isn’t unhealthy, this recipe for duck is unhealthy. If you ever want a clean recipe for duck I’d be more than happy to give you one. I operate a meal prep business and personally create all the recipes.
We can always use yet another recipe to experiment with! Please share one or post a website where your creations can be found. Thanks
I eat a low carb high fat diet (keto) and this is pefect. Not at all unhealthy 😀 Just leave off the potato and have another low carb veg with butter!
This was my first venture into duck, and I was nervous. But man. This recipe is INCREDIBLE. And easy! The timing was spot on as far as cooking the duck went, and the garlic mash and wilted spinach I made at the suggestion of the author all benefited from that delicious peppercorn sauce.
10/10 will keep in my back pocket to impress dinner guests with once the ‘Rona is done and over!
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