Eric Milford :: Web Developer & Food Advocate

Of course the best weekend of Fall (with regard to the weather) and I'm down for the count battling the tail end of a thankfully mild cold.

Mmmm, duck. It's absolutely delicious and one of my favorite meats to cook and serve. My objective in cooking duck is a moist, juicy piece of meat with a thin (and I mean thin) layer of fat topped by an amazingly crisp skin. Here are the tips and techniques I learned while cooking professionally, adapted to the home kitchen.

1. Muscovy. It's simply my preference. Many also enjoy Pekin, but I generally reserve these for whole duck cookery as their meat to fat ratio is a bit higher. I also confit Moulard duck for their thick, meaty legs.


2. Brine. I brine all of my poultry. Water + salt (think a pleasant ocean-like salinity) + seasonings (sugar, herbs, spices). ~2-4hrs for pieces, ~8-12hrs for whole. Bypassing the science behind it, brining allows us to season a meat uniformly while also helping to maintain juiciness. Time in brine will vary based on your seasoning preferences and the amount of salt used.


3. Dry. Wet skin won't crisp, so dry thoroughly with paper towels or leave your duck skin side up in the refrigerator for a few hours post brine. I prefer a combined approach.


4. Warm. Remove the chill from a piece of meat and it is less of a shock to a hot pan (not relevant in this case, as you'll see next) and will cook more evenly. Leave your duck breasts at room temperature for about an hour.


5. Score. Take a sharp knife and run it across the skin side of your duck in a crosshatch pattern. Scoring the fat will help the fat to render and skin to crisp. We like crispy skin.


6. Cold. This is where I (and many restaurant chefs I know) differ from the conventional duck cookery learned by most home cooks -- start the duck, skin side down, in a *cold* (or low heated) pan. The objective here is to render the fat as the pan begins to heat, not sear it (as you would a steak, for instance). Continuously poor all but a small amount of the accumulated fat into a heat proof container. Treat this by-product like gold.


7. Baste. Roughly 80-85% of the cooking time should be done skin side down. As the breast approaches your desired doneness and the skin is adequately crisped add a pat of high quality butter and, optionally, herbs (I use sage & thyme) and begin to spoon the melted fat over the flesh side of the breast. Flip and continue to cook briefly before removing from the pan.


8. Rest. An extremely under utilized yet absolutely critical technique in cooking meat. A properly rested piece of meat when cut will not leave your cutting board sopping with juices. If the juices are on your cutting board, they're not in your meat. Juice in meat is good. Therefore, rest your meat. 10m for pieces, 20-30m for whole. Serve & Enjoy.