My First Time… Making Duck

Pan Seared Duck Breast over Shiitake & Portobello Risotto

This was my first ever attempt at making duck.  How did I do?  Eh… the duck tasted fabulous, but I think it could be better.  But I’ve conquered any fear I might have had, and so, yet another meat is added to my repertoire.  That can’t ever be a bad thing…

The duck was very simply prepared- I made deep, deep scores in the skin, through the fat, right down to the meat (without scoring the meat itself).  This proved very, very wise- the fat rendered out and left succulent peeps of the deeply colored meat underneath.  (See below.)  I very simply seasoned it with salt and fresh ground black pepper on both sides, then put the breasts, skin side down, into a searing hot pan.  After 5 minutes on the one side, I flipped, cooked for 2 additionally minutes, and then tossed the whole thing into the oven, which I’d pre-heated at 350 degrees.  Left it in there for about 6 minutes, took it out and let it rest for a few minutes as I ran around plating and getting things ready.  The skin came out super crispy, slightly salty (not overly so, but definitely more salty in some places than others- I have to be more careful when I’m salting!), and the meat was medium rare.  Delicious!  (Remember: you can [personal opinion: and should] eat duck less than well done.) 

(right after it came out of the oven… sorry, I must have been really excited, not one of the pictures I took came wasn’t blurry)

This was a really labor intensive dinner, mostly because I chose to make risotto simultaneously.  I started the risotto before I even scored or seasoned the duck, so I was trying to do a million things at once (and accepted a laundry delivery in the midst of it all- I almost freaked when I thought my risotto had over-toasted while I was paying the guy).  Thankfully, it all turned out right…

For the risotto, I took your standard risotto recipe and tweaked it a bit.  Since I’m not a fan of the wine taste that comes through (regardless of the wine being a type I like), I omit the wine in general.  Also, this time, I used a combination of beef/pork broth (leftover from cooking dumplings the other day), added some (frozen ice cubes) of my roasted chicken/portobello broth I’d made a few weeks ago, and also added the liquid from rehydrating my dried Shiitake mushrooms.  Started the risotto with those items, then, towards the end, added chopped up portobello stems (leftover from making portobello parmesan last week- I’d let the stems sit in the same hot water as the Shiitakes while they rehydrated, to cook them a bit) and sliced Shiitake mushrooms.  For the finishing touch, instead of using cheese like I’d normally do, I juiced one whole lemon into the dish, per AbstractGourmet’s suggestion. 

Can I tell you that the lemon juice changed the entire dish?  Whereas normally, after eating risotto, I feel bogged down, heavy, food-coma-ish, this time, the dish was bright, lively, and very light tasting.  The mushrooms’ flavor shone through the entire dish, without being cloyed by cheese. 

Delicious.  I strongly recommend this combination to everyone.

Happy eating & enjoy!