Foodedo recipe
Duck Breast with Orange Sauce
Crisp-skinned duck breast with a glossy orange sauce, served with new potatoes and green beans for a classic French-style dinner.
Ingredients
9 items
- duck
- 2duck breastskin on, about 180–220 g each
- sauce
- 100 mlorange juicefreshly squeezed or chilled fresh orange juice
- 1orangefinely zested
- 1 tbsphoney
- 1 tbspsoy sauce
- sides
- 200 ggreen beanstrimmed
- 400 gnew potatoeshalved if large
- seasoning
- to tastefine sea salt
- to tasteblack pepper
Recipe notes (2)
- Food safety: Duck is poultry. Keep it separate from ready-to-eat food, never wash raw duck, and wash hands, boards and knives after handling it. Cook thoroughly: a clean probe in the thickest part should read 75°C for 30 seconds, or 70°C for 2 minutes.
- Cook's note: Pour off the rendered duck fat carefully into a heatproof bowl as it accumulates; this helps the skin crisp. Do not pour hot fat down the sink.
Method
6 steps
- duck
Step 1. Finely zest the orange. Keep the duck separate from the vegetables and any ready-to-eat food, and do not wash it. Pat the duck breasts dry well with kitchen paper. Using a sharp knife, score the skin in a 1 cm crosshatch pattern, cutting through the fat but not into the flesh. Season both sides with salt and black pepper. Wash your hands, knife and board thoroughly after handling the raw duck.
Step 2. Place the duck breasts skin-side down in a large cold frying pan, about 26–28 cm wide. Set over medium heat and cook for 10–12 minutes, pouring off the rendered fat into a heatproof bowl every few minutes, until the skin is deep golden and most of the fat has rendered. Turn the breasts over and cook for 6–8 minutes more over medium-low heat, adjusting the heat so the skin does not catch, until a clean probe in the thickest part reads 75°C for 30 seconds, or 70°C for 2 minutes. Transfer to a warm plate or board, skin-side up, and rest for 5 minutes. Keep the pan for the sauce.
- sides
Step 3. As soon as the duck goes into the pan, put the new potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with just-boiled water and add plenty of salt. Bring back to the boil, then lower to a steady simmer and cook for 12–15 minutes until tender all the way through when pierced with a knife. Drain well, return to the warm pan, season lightly with salt and pepper, cover and keep warm while the duck finishes.
- sauce
Step 4. While the duck rests, pour off all but 1 teaspoon of fat from the duck pan. Add the orange juice, orange zest, honey and soy sauce. Bring to a brisk simmer over medium heat, scraping up any browned bits from the pan, and cook for 3–5 minutes until lightly syrupy and glossy enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in any juices released by the resting duck and taste for seasoning.
- sides
Step 5. At the same time, cook the green beans in a pan of boiling salted water for 3–4 minutes until tender-crisp. Drain well and season lightly with salt.
Step 6. Slice the duck breasts thickly. Divide between warmed plates with the new potatoes and green beans, then spoon over the orange sauce and serve straight away.