Pan-Seared Duck Breast with Orange Cranberry Sauce
A simple pan-seared duck breast with orange cranberry sauce you can make in one pan.
Cook Time30 minutesmins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, French
Keyword: duck, duck breast, holiday, main course, mains
Servings: 4
Equipment
Instant-read meat thermometer
Ingredients
1lbduck breast
salt
1/4cupwhite wine
12ozwhole fresh cranberries
1tbspsugar
1/2tsporange zest
1/2orangejuiced
Instructions
Pan-Seared Duck Breast
Pat your duck breast dry.
Score the skin by carefully cutting diagonally into the skin, being mindful not to cut too deep. Score diagonally on both sides to make a criss-cross pattern. Scoring the skin helps render down the fat.
Salt the skin side of the duck liberally.
Place 1 lb duck breast on a cold pan before turning on the heat. Turn up the heat to medium-low. Staring in a cold pan will gradually render the fat on the skin down evenly.
Cook the duck breast for about 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 125 degrees. Throughout the cooking process, the fat will render and gently bubble. Adjust your heat accordingly to keep the fat at that gentle bubble.
Flip the breast over once your skin is a crispy golden brown and cook for 2 more minutes on the other side until the internal temperature reaches 130 for a perfect medium-rare.
Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes while you make the orange cranberry pan sauce.
Pro Tip: Reserve any leftover duck fat in the pan before making the pan sauce.
Orange Cranberry Sauce
Reserve or wipe out leftover duck fat in the pan.
Deglaze the pan with 1/4 cup white wine, scraping up any brown bits.
Add in 12 oz whole fresh cranberries, 1 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tsp orange zest, and the juice of 1/2 orange.
Cook down for 10 minutes. The cranberries should pop as they cook down. Use the back of your spoon to crush any cranberries that didn't pop.
Cut your duck breast and serve with orange cranberry sauce.