Its very straight forward!
Duck and chicken are both poultry, but they have completely different cooking qualities.
Duck is beautiful served medium rare, but undercooked chicken is chewy and rubbery!
This duck breast is used in today’sThai Duck Curry recipe
Today, I published aThai Red Duck Currywhich I made using duck breast.
So I decided to put the detailed information in a separate recipe post for ease of reading.
They are sold with the skin on, and boneless.
This duck breast is used in today’sThai Duck Curry recipe
Other than this, you just need salt and pepper.
No oil the duck will cook in its own fat!
When is duck breast cooked?
This is how it is typically served at fine dining restaurants.
Example Chinese BBQ Duck which is entirely cooked through.
Nobody has ever accused the Chinese of bland dry roast duck!!
Why we do this:The slashes allows the fat to render out from under the skin (ie.
melt) more easily than when the skin is not slashed, so the skin can become crispy.
Duck skin is thicker than chicken and can be quite rubbery if not cooked to make it golden.
Theres also a lot more fat under the skin than chicken.
Again, not pleasant to eat if theres too much, hence necessary to render most of it out.
Take carenot to cut the flesh!
COLD pan with NO OIL Dont turn the stove on yet.
Place the duck skin side down in an unheated oven-proof pan without any oil.
It doesnt need to be non-stick or a well seasoned cast iron pan.
Ducks render out so much fat that theres plenty to keep it from sticking to any pan.
Why: Because duck skin can curl and wrinkle, leaving pale rubbery patches.
Easier to pop a pan on top.
Cook on low 10 minutes Now you could turn the stove on!
Low if its a strong stove, or medium low if its a weak burner.
The more slowly you cook the duck, the more fat you will render out which means crispier skin.
Its low maintenance too, because its low heat.
Golden crispy skin!Keep cooking until the skin because golden and crispy, around the 10 minute mark.
With an unfamiliar stove and heat fiddling (like me with induction stoves!
), it could take up to 14 minutes which is fine.
Remember, we start on low heat and work out way up which means, low risk!
Some recipes will just use the stove for breast.
I opt for this safer approach because duck is special and more expensive than regular chicken breast!
Here is a close up look of duck breast cooked to medium, after resting.
Thats how I like it!
Prevent screen from sleeping
As mentioned, I am posting this as part of aThai Red Duck Curryrecipe I also published today.
Im thinking cherry sauce or an orange port glaze withParis MashandGarlic Sauteed Spinach, andChocolate Moussefor dessert.
