Peppered Duck Breast With Red Wine Sauce
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
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Ingredients
Yield:6 servings
- 3Muscovy duck breasts (about 1 pound each)
- Salt
- 1tablespoon freshly crushed black peppercorns
- 4garlic cloves, sliced
- Fresh thyme sprigs
- 2tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1large shallot, sliced
- 1tablespoon tomato paste
- 2cups unsalted chicken broth
- ¼cup plus 2 tablespoons medium-bodied red wine
- 1tablespoon Cognac or brandy
- 2teaspoons potato starch
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
240 calories; 10 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 27 grams protein; 819 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Remove the tenderloins (the thin strips of meat on undersides of the duck breast) and reserve for the sauce. With a sharp knife, trim away any gristle from the undersides of the breasts and trim any excess fat. Score the skin in a diamond pattern, cutting through the fat but not quite reaching the meat. Lightly sprinkle salt on both sides, then rub 1 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns all over. Sprinkle with the garlic and a few thyme sprigs, cover, and leave at room temperature for 1 hour. (For deeper flavor, refrigerate the breasts for several hours or overnight, then return to room temperature before cooking.)
- Step 2
Heat 1 tablespoon unsalted butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and the reserved duck tenderloins; let them brown well, stirring occasionally, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and a small thyme sprig and let them fry for 1 minute.
- Step 3
Add the broth and ¼ cup wine, raise the heat to a brisk simmer and let the liquid reduce to about 1¼ cups, about 10 minutes. Strain the sauce and return to the heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons red wine and the Cognac or brandy and cook for 1 minute more. Dissolve potato starch in 2 tablespoons cold water, then stir the mixture into the sauce. Whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Season to taste with salt. (Sauce may be made in advance and reheated, thinned with a little broth.)
- Step 4
Remove and discard the garlic and thyme sprigs from the breasts. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high. When the pan is hot, lay in the duck breasts, skin-side down, and let them sizzle. Lower the heat to medium and cook for a total of 7 minutes, checking to make sure the skin isn’t browning too quickly. With tongs, turn the breasts over and let them cook another 3 minutes for rare, 4 to 5 minutes for medium-rare. Transfer to a warm platter and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice crosswise, not too thickly, at a slight angle and serve with the sauce.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
TH
Either omit the tomato paste or use no more than a teaspoon. A tablespoon of tomato paste must have been a typo... it completely overpowered the sauce and I had to start again.
Jaimie
I followed the recipe in terms of cooking the duck verbatim, and it was perfect. Crispy, bronze skin and tender medium rare meat. I took some liberties with the sauce, omitting the tomato paste, potato startch and wine. Instead I made a simple reduction sauce after cooking the breasts. Drain/save that precious remaining duck fat to store in the fridge for roasted potatoes or duck fat fries. Then using the same pan I added brandy-soaked cherry juice I had on hand with a knob of butter.
bdaun
I received rave reviews for this recipe! Very easy to make. Do yourself a favor and make the sauce the night before. When sautéing the shallot and duck tenderloins, put a 1-2" piece of duck fat in with the butter. Remember to bring the duck to room temperature before cooking. I'll make this again, certainly.
FrancesNapa
Fantastic recipe - just excellent. The duck was delicious and not too rich or fatty. I followed it exactly except I did not add the potato starch. I simply reduced the liquid until it thickened.
chuck huber
This is a great recipe and elegant dish. Having a sauce you can make ahead is wonderful . Depending on the girth of your duck breast the cooking time can be 5-7 minutes longer. I added a tablespoon of green peppercorn to the sauce . If you need to substitute corn starch for potato starch, you might needed 1.5 tsp. Also, remember if you are using cornstarch, once you add the cornstarch you will need to bring the sauce to a slight boil and stir it for a bit in order to activate the corn starch.
RV
Why was I so afraid of cooking duck breast? I have not eaten duck since the 1960's when I faked eating the duck soup my daddy was so proud of. Fast forward to retirement and I promised my husband duck for months now. After months of searching for a simple recipe and after watching many vid's I chose David's recipe. It was great, prepared just as the recipe says to. I made 2 breasts and halved the recipe for the sauce (roughly right). He loved it, I loved it. I would serve to guests.
Terry J
This is very good and easy dish that worked really well with potato gratin and steamed and buttered broccolini and a nice red wine. Perfect for a small dinner party
The printed recipe is silent on what to do with the remaining 2 tsp of the 1 tablespoon of crushed black pepper. A misprint? Or is it 1 tsp per breast?
John
I cooked the breasts sous vide at 130 degrees for about two hours, then seared the heck out of them. Very happy with the results, and no need to score the skin. Love the sauce. Had a few slices of meat left over, so I reheated them in the sauce and poured it all over pasta.
Brendon
No need for tomato paste in the sauce and I think to make it rich, creamy and decadent I added more butter. More butter is just better.
beth
This turned out very nicely. I ended up halving all of the sauce ingredients except the butter, and adding about 1 tsp duck fat. The breasts I purchased were already trimmed so I didn’t have the extra pieces for that step. I also, after reading other reviews, decided to use just a little bit of tomato paste. Delicious meal!
Suzanne
Did the red wine sauce as others have suggested- omitting the ketchup and flour and just cooking down the wine with chicken stock butter salt and pepper and it was delicious! I’m making a prime rib roast for the holiday and will make the sauce again. A perfect au jus for many kinds of proteins.
Luke
Great recipe. I omitted the butter for the red wine sauce: instead I rendered extra duck fat with the shallots. I left out the tomato paste and starch and thought the sauce was still great (just be sure to reduce the sauce for more time and finish with unsalted butter). A meat thermometer is necessary here if you are looking for a perfect medium rare
bitsy
This was truly delicious. And not that difficult. The sauce needs to be done a bit head of course. But f you make the sauce ahead this becomes one of those easy meals to serve when the family gathers. I made hassleback potatoes with it which blew the easy part. But they were good.
Laura Di Battista, Toronto
Why don't I make duck more often? My duck breasts were perfection. They tasted like tender Prime Rib instead of poultry. I will make this again for sure!
Es
This is basically how I always cook a duck breast (D'Artagnan). but I don't usually make a sauce with it. I happened to have homemade chicken stock and voila: this was as good as it gets. For the 2 of us, 1 duck breast and the sauce ingredients basically in half (heavy on the red wine). Duck refrigerated overnight. This was just too good. Served with quinoa pilaf and roasted beets in a butter sauce. Wow.
Anne Williams
The duck was super tender and had a wonderful flavor. It should have been left out to dry after marinating, that would have made the skin crisper than it was, I think. And to all others who didn’t have unsalted chicken broth - don’t think about using salted broth cubes! (I had to throw it out :-(
Laura G.
Lovely. Did use Gabrielle Hamilton’s lower, slower cooking method, which renders more fat. Had only “better than bouillon,” which is the opposite of low sodium, but compensated by diluting heavily & reducing salt elsewhere. Used arrowroot rather than potato starch to thicken.
Shakychef
This is a definite keeper for a meal! I let the breast sit overnight, refrigerated, with the S&P, thyme and garlic. The duck had a great flavor! I used cornstarch to thicken the sauce and it worked fine. Just make sure you cook it for a few minutes to get rid of the raw taste of the cornstarch. The sauce really finishes this dish. The suggested cooking times were perfect, I went for 7 minutes on the skin side and then 4 for a perfect medium rare.
Caroline
Can this recipe be made with mixed different duck parts? Bone in skin on legs for instance?
Mark
Yes
lisa
Tried 1.5 tsp cornstarch instead of potato starch
Melissa
Absolutely delicious. Served over mashed potatoes with roasted broccolini. Let the duck sit overnight in the fridge, and added the reserved black pepper to the sauce.
Eric
The sauce was unfortunately one-dimensional and, cooked as directed, too watery. I ended up cooking it down almost twice as long to get it to the right concentration and texture of a proper sauce, as well as adding extra butter and, for some complexity, a spot of Dijon mustard.
Brooke
I agree that this recipe is delicious and easy if you follow the instructions and have a little patience. I used flour instead of potato starch which I didn’t have to thicken the sauce—that was fine, though a bit of whisking was required to get the flour to blend in. No mention of what to serve with the duck beyond the potato purée in the photo, but I threw baby potatoes I had boiled to fry briefly in the rendered duck fat and made a German-style cucumber salad. A real treat for a weekday night!
Wideeyedraven
If you read the piece it’s pulled from, it’s a celery root and potato purée but there was no link to it.
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