Pan-Seared Provençal Duck with Honey Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Ingredients
1
duck breast (approximately 12 ounces/300 grams)*
Duck might be more challenging to find, as it isn’t as popular outside of China and France. I recommend talking to the butcher at your local specialty store or ordering duck online from Maple Leaf Farms, D’Artagnan or, surprisingly enough, even Amazon.
*Show Note
1 tsp
herbes de Provence
½ tsp
salt
½ tsp
pepper
1 tsp
canola oil
½ c
orange juice (no pulp)
3 tbsp
miel de fleur (wildflower honey)*
Be sure to use a runny honey. Thick or creamy honeys will stick to the pan and burn. Miel de fleur (wildflower honey) is my favorite to cook with, but other honeys, such as an orange blossom or thyme honey, work very well with this duck recipe. If you live in France or are visiting, take a trip to La Maison du Miel, one of the oldest purveyors of honey in the country. In the U.S., I recommend skipping the fake honey at the supermarket and buying true wildflower honey online from specialty stores like Marshall’s Honey or at a local gourmet grocery store, such as a Whole Foods, Dean & Deluca, or Le District in New York City.
*Show Note
2 tbsp
unsalted butter
1 tsp
lemon juice
Pan-Seared Provençal Duck with Honey Sauce
This pan-seared duck is a way to combine three famously French flavors: duck, miel de fleur, and herbes de Provence. Serve with a chilled glass of rosé, and you’ll be transported.
2 servings
- Take the duck breast out of the fridge 30 minutes prior to cooking. Using a sharp knife, score the fat side of the duck diagonally in marks ½ an inch apart. Be careful not to cut into the meat. Then cut in the opposite direction as well, making a crosshatch pattern.
- Season the duck on both sides with herbes de Provence, salt and pepper.
- When 30 minutes have passed, pour the canola oil into a large sauté pan and place on the stovetop over medium heat. When the pan is hot, place the duck breast in the center, skin side down, and lower the fire to medium-low. Let the meat cook for 10 to 12 minutes until the skin is a deep brown. Turn the breast over and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes until the meat is medium-rare. Transfer the duck to a cutting board.
- Pour off the rendered duck fat from the pan and return it to the fire. (I like to leave about a tablespoon of the fat in the pan for flavor and save the rest for cooking potatoes another day.)
- Pour in the orange juice and use a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan. Add the honey and continuously stir the sauce. Turn the heat up to medium-high and let the sauce lightly boil and reduce to half.
- When the sauce starts to reduce, add the butter and return the duck breast to the pan. Tilt the pan toward you and ladle the sauce over the duck continuously for about 1 minute.
- Remove the duck from the pan to the cutting board, and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
- Plate the duck and pour the honey sauce over the meat. Serve with green beans and a carrot puree or mashed potatoes.
Ajiri Aki
Ajiri Aki is the co-author of Where’s Karl? (Clarkson Potter, 2015) with Stacey Caldwell and recently launched MANNA Paris, a website for English speaking mothers in Paris. You can follow her @whereskarl and @manna_paris.