Perfectly Cooked Duck Breast: A Step-by-Step Guide
Learn how to bake duck breast to perfection with this simple and clear guide. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced cook, this method ensures a juicy, flavorful duck breast with a wonderfully crispy skin every time.
Yield: 4
Equipment
- 1 lid or a splash guard, suitable for the frying pan, to prevent splashing grease
- 1 meat knife
- 1 kitchen tongs
- 1 kitchen shelf
Instructions
- Remove the duck breasts from the refrigerator about 1 hour before cooking to come to room temperature.
- Carve the skin of the duck breast in a diamond pattern, without cutting into the meat. This helps melt the fat and crisp the skin.
- Sprinkle the duck breasts with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and place the duck breasts skin side down in the dry pan. No butter or other fat is necessary.
- Bake the duck breast for 6-8 minutes (depending on thickness and desired doneness) on the skin until crispy. Make sure the heat is not too high to prevent the skin from burning too quickly.
- Before flipping, pour most of the fat from the pan into another pan.
- Turn the duck breasts over and cook for another 3-6 minutes (depending on thickness and desired doneness) on the other side, depending on how pink you want them.
- Remove the duck breasts from the pan and let them rest under aluminum foil for 5-10 minutes before cutting.
- Thinly slice the duck breast and serve.
Notes
The meat in the photo was removed from the refrigerator an hour beforehand.
It baked for almost 7 minutes on the skin side, 3 minutes on the other side.
The meat then rested in aluminum foil for nearly 10 minutes.
