Editor's note:Chris Hanna suggests serving herFrench Lentil, Prosciutto, and Pepper Saladalongside the pan-seared duck.
The first time I made duck, I prepared traditional Peking duck using two enormous birds special-ordered from the butcher. After three days of painstaking preparation, every surface of my kitchen was covered in duck fat, and the ducks had shrunk down so much I only had a few ounces of meat to serve the six people walking through my door for dinner.
Duck breasts are the answer! You can find them in the freezer section of your market if you can't find fresh, or you can special-order them from your butcher. They're much less fatty than duck legs or thighs, and they don't shrink much at all. In this recipe, the sear on high heat gets the skin nice and crispy. Aromatic five-spice powder gives the duck an exotic flair. An easy pan sauce results from deglazing the pan with wine and balsamic vinegar.
Duck and Pinot Noir are meant for each other. An elegant Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is a perfect match, and stands up to the aromatic spice rub.
Ingredients
Serves 6
Step 1
In a large, heavy self-sealing plastic bag, combine the garlic, ginger, five-spice powder, salt, and pepper. Add the duck breasts, seal, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. Remove from the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking.
Step 2
Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C/gas 6. In a large ovenproof sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Sear the duck breast, skin side down, for 5 minutes; turn and sear for 5 minutes on the other side. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 5 minutes for medium-rare. Transfer the duck breasts to a plate and keep warm.
Step 3
To make a balsamic jus, pour off the fat from the pan. Return the pan to medium-high heat, add the wine, and stir to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook to reduce the wine by half. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook to reduce for several more minutes.
Step 4
Cut the duck breasts into diagonal slices and serve drizzled with the balsamic jus.
How would you rate Pan-Seared Five-Spice Duck Breast with Balsamic Jus?
Leave a Review
Reviews (8)
Back to TopMade this for friends recently but cooked it differently, using s suggestion on Serious Ears to start duck skin side down in a cold pan. Worked perfectly. Served it with the lentil salad (warm) and it was a huge hit.
Anonymous
Franklin, MI
1/7/2023
Perfection. Incredibly easy to make and very elegant. I have prepared it three times for different people and rave reviews from all.
allisonpharis
Sebastopol, CA
9/16/2020
This is a delicious recipe made as written. One reviewer inquired about a missing step regarding "marinade", but the spices are actually a "rub", so no mistake there. My duck breasts sat in the rub for 48 hours due to logistics and they were delicious. The only change I made was to keep the lentil "salad" warm as that seemed more appealing in November. I also saved most of the prosciutto to sprinkle on before serving.
janetvassar
Los Altos, CA
11/11/2017
The flavor of this recipe is excellent, but I find that the recipe as written would leave lots of problems for novice cooks. The searing time is a bit high with no directions for rating how seared it should be before it is burned. Rest time which is needed here is not indicated in times of minutes. I would hope that these details could be improved upon so no one would be dissatisfied with the recipe.
dakcook
Adirondack Mts. of NY
8/30/2015
Yum Yum Yum. I would recommend decreasing the salt. Other than that, I don't know that I would make other changes. This has a complex taste to it. I would serve it with Israeli cous-cous and roasted veggies. Dessert should then be a sorbet or something.
JAMPurple
Indianapolis, IN
1/7/2014
I thought this was a great recipe. I followed it mostly as-written and loved it. I think I cooked the duck for just 3-4 minutes in the oven though, as that seemed like it was enough. It was medium rare. I thought it was very flavorful and really easy for a weeknight fancy dinner. I made it with the lentils and loved the combination. It's also pretty healthy... except for perhaps the duck skin/fat and the prosciutto. For the duck preparation, I am not sure there is an omission there. I used prepared grated ginger (the kind from a tube, which I usually don't use, but it was perfect in this case). The ginger and garlic provided enough moisture to make it into a paste, which I rubbed on the duck breast before puttting it in the ziploc bag to "marinate".
gomandygo
Arlington, VA
11/19/2013
Loved the flavour combo. Never would have thoght of combining the five spice with mediterranian flavours such as in the lentil salad.
Cajo07
Sweden
2/28/2013
I followed this recipe as it is written. The result was very, very tender meat with a delicious sauce. I will definitely repeat this recipe. It is easy and delightful.
dakcook
Thurman, NY
5/27/2012
I tried sending an email to Epicurious to point out an omission in this recipe, but all I got was an automated reply and the recipe has not been corrected. The first step is a marinade, but there is no liquid in the recipe. I don't think it is intended as a rub because it doesn't say to do anything with the ingredients other than put them in a zip lock bag with the duck breast. I put in some soy sauce and it was just okay. I would really like to know what it was supposed to be. Maybe someone else can figure it out.
Anonymous
NC
12/12/2011
See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips
-
This Sauce Is Swoon-Worthy and Weeknight-Friendly—So Why Aren't You Making It?
Making a pan sauce is easy and fast. And the best part? Half of the sauce is already in your pan.
