I decided to try my hand at skin on duck breasts. Dried them out, then scored the skin.Salt and pepper and onto a cold cast iron pan. Turned to medium heat, skin side down, put another pan on top to press down and cooked and rendered for 12 minutes. Flipped then about 7 minutes more until internal temperature reached 140. The recipe said to wait until 155 but that seemed too much. They turned out decent but not restaurant quality. More research is needed lol
by SteveNewWest
7 Comments
Not sure I would put weight on top, might force some moisture out. Personally, maple leaf duck breast 130
Its so vital that you cook it with a thermometer to ensure you dont ruin it. I know it is far too late, but overcooking and ruin a nice piece of meat is inexcusable.
Now do rabbit.
Use the same temperatures you would for beef. Medium-rare is the optimal temperature for Duck and that’s pretty agreed upon.
You did research, now you only lack experience. I think you know what you want from that meat, and after another one or two it will be achieved. For your first time, that looks good. I’m glad you tried it out, because even decent(as you described it) duck is tasty. It only gets better buddy.
Rooting for your next go
I thought they just made stuffing.
>but not restaurant quality. More research is needed
Faster pan. Much more cooking fat. Especially if you are using gas heat. If electric or induction, you’re going to have to be a lot more conscientious about heat management because iron/steel pans react very slowly to adjustments in heat flow.
I say flow because that’s what we are actually controlling (in BTU/hr) when we adjust a source… because steel/iron react slowly to such changes, more delicate recipes require more work as there is a tendency to oversteer the adjustment before the pan catches up.
Sounds like you hit all the key points on how to cook duck that I have seen. Looks good. What was the issue that you didn’t enjoy as much as a restaurant prepared breast? seasoning, doneness, not paying $40 for it ?