Crispy Duck w/ Orange Gastrique

Duck is one of those proteins that people rarely tend to cook at home, which makes it all the more special to prepare and present at the table.

Do your best to have patience while rendering the fat down to get it golden brown and crispy.

Remember to save the duck fat from the pan and strain it to use for cooking literally almost any type of vegetable, mushroom, or protein.

The most important part of this dish is to allow the duck to rest for as long as it cooked in the oven before slicing it.

Prep List

For the duck:

• 1 x 9-ounce duck breast

• 2 x tablespoons kosher salt

• 2 x tablespoons five-spice seasoning

• 6 x thyme sprigs

• 4 x garlic cloves, crushed

• Salt and pepper to taste

For the orange gastrique:

• 1 x orange, zested and juice reserved

• 1/2 cup x sugar

• 1/2 cup x red wine or sherry vinegar

Recipe

For the duck:

• Bring duck to room temp while preheating oven to 375 deg

• Trim then score duck breast carefully in a crosshatch deep enough to penetrate the skin ½ to ⅓ in. while careful not to expose the meat. Set aside the fat trimmings for cooking

• Salt duck breast liberally on a sheet tray or baking pan and season heavily on both sides with five-spice seasoning. Let rest for 2 minutes before searing.

• Heat cast-iron or carbon steel pan on low heat for 3 minutes then lay duck breasts in pan, skin side down, slowly increasing heat to medium then add the skin trimmings into the pan

• Cook skin side down for 3-5 minutes or until most of the fat has rendered and skin is golden brown, flipping the breast over a few times during the process Do not cook breasts on high heat or the skin will shrink and become chewy instead of crispy

• Add thyme and garlic and sauté for 1 minute then set the thyme, garlic, and duck fat trimmings over the top of the breast with the skin side down

• Move pan to center rack of oven then roast for 8-10 minutes until internal temperature should reach 135 deg

• Transfer duck to sheet pan to rest 8-10 minutes (however long it was in the oven for) before placing the duck onto a cutting board skin side down and slicing

For the orange gastrique:

• Zest orange and add to a small pot of boiling water for 2 minutes to remove bitterness then drain in sieve and set the orange zest aside to cool

• Heat sugar in small pot over medium heat without stirring for 5 minutes then swirl the pot slightly as the sugar is starting to melt

• Once sugar is completely melted and dark amber in hue, add vinegar and stir with a wooden spoon for 5 more minutes

• Pour in orange juice and zest to simmer 5 minutes until reduced to a thick syrup