Duck Breast with Red Wine Sauce

Duck breast with red-wine sauce is a classic, warming dish from French cuisine. The breast is gently rendered on the skin side and served with a rich sauce of red wine, thyme, shallot and a touch of honey.

Serves: 4
Preparation: about 30 minutes
Cooking: about 30 minutes
Total time: about 60 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 duck breasts with skin (approx. 150–180 g each)
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 sprig of thyme
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 shallots
• 200 ml red wine
• 100 ml chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon mild red-wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey (to taste)
• approx. 30 g cold butter, cut into small cubes

Preparation

• Score the fat on the duck breast in a criss-cross pattern, without cutting into the meat.
• Season the fillets on both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Leave the duck breast, covered, to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes.
• Peel the shallots and finely chop them.
• Peel the garlic and lightly crush the cloves with the flat side of a knife.

Method

1. Place the duck breasts skin-side down in a cold, dry frying pan.
2. Set the pan over a medium-high heat.
3. As soon as the fat begins to melt, add the sprig of thyme and the crushed garlic.
4. Cook the duck breast for 6–8 minutes on the skin side, until the fat is golden brown and crisp and plenty of fat has rendered.
5. Turn the fillets over and cook for another 3–4 minutes on the flesh side, depending on thickness, until a core temperature of about 55–58 °C for medium-rare meat.
6. Remove the duck breasts from the pan, place on a chopping board and cover loosely with aluminium foil. Let rest for 10 minutes.
7. Pour off the excess fat from the pan; leave a thin layer and the browned bits behind.
8. Return the pan to a moderate heat.
9. Add the chopped shallots and sweat them in the remaining fat until translucent.
10. Deglaze with the red wine and use a wooden spoon to scrape the browned bits from the bottom.
11. Add the red-wine vinegar.
12. Reduce the liquid by about half.
13. Add the chicken stock and stir.
14. Let the sauce reduce gently for another 5–10 minutes, until lightly thickened.
15. Taste and add a teaspoon of honey, to taste, for a gentle balance between sour and sweet.
16. Remove the pan from the heat.
17. Add the cold butter cubes in batches and whisk them into the sauce until it is glossy and slightly thickened.
18. Season the sauce with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
19. Keep the sauce warm (do not let it boil again).
20. Slice the duck breasts across the grain into neat slices.
21. Arrange the slices on warm plates and spoon the red-wine sauce around them or lightly over the top.