I have loved duck as far back as I can remember. I’m not positive the first time I had it, but my gut tells me it was at the restaurant on top of the Hancock Building in Chicago. My dad brought me there for the first time when I was a kid for my birthday… I know that sounds like a weird birthday restaurant for a kid! But I always opted for one-on-one activities with my dad for my birthday when I was growing up ~ product of divorced parents. And, if you’ve never been to the restaurant in the Hancock Building, I highly recommend it post pandemic! The restaurant is on the second to top floor with amazing views looking north and south and stretching east across Lake Michigan. There is a bar on the top floor, which of course is a great place to start the evening! If you can, get a table by a window. I’m a south-sider, so I always prefer the view looking down to my neck of the woods.
The last time I went there was when I graduated from the University of Chicago with my Master’s degree. I went with my dad, his wife, and a good family friend. And as I always remembered, their menu had duck. Frankly, if venison or duck is on a menu, I order it. And only once was that order not up to snuff… and that was when my husband and I were hiking across England and stopped over at an inn that, in addition to a venison special, offered schnitzel and spaetzle. The German owner cooked the schnitzel and spaetzle himself, and, well, unfortunately my venison just could not compete!
Other than that, wherever I go in my travels, duck or venison is always a top choice if I see it on the menu. And I’ve gotten my son hooked on it too! I think the first time he had duck was in Kilkenny, Ireland. There is an Italian restaurant I love there, and I always eat there when I pass through, which has been each time I’ve gone to Ireland! I find the key to Italian restaurants, generally, is to not order pasta. You can get pasta anywhere! It’s their specialty dishes that really show the heart of the chef. Well, I encouraged my son to order duck when I brought him to Ireland on our first international trip together, and he loved it.
When we traveled to Southeast Asia, we had an amazing dinner in Hoi An, Vietnam. Rather than order duck, like I normally would, I opted for soft shell crab… another weakness of mine! But, my son immediately ordered their duck. Again, amazing!
So, stuck inside and unwilling to venture out to a restaurant right now, I decided to order some “exotic” meats through an online company. Duck, venison, rabbit, and wild boar. And as I’m listing them off to my husband, he simultaneously tells me not to tell him when I cook the boar (I guess the rest he was cool with?), and to not tell my son about any of it. I laughed, knowing full well my son would totally dig all of this! Heck, we ate kangaroo in Singapore and that was probably the most delicious piece of meat I’ve ever eaten! (I try to balance out my murderous tendencies with vegetarian and vegan dishes as my means to apologize to these beautiful creatures! But, I’m still a murderous meat-eater at heart 🤷🏻♀️). And sure enough, when I told my son what I had order and what my husband had said, he laughingly got excited. And rightly so!
So, as you can predict, I have some exciting dishes coming up that I cannot wait to make and then share with you! But, I chose to start with duck because I find duck to be a very romantic dinner (even if your teenage son is dining with you and your spouse/partner!).
When I have had duck in the past, it has either been duck at a Chinese restaurant in an orange sauce, or duck at a “fancy” restaurant in a raspberry sauce. But, when I decided to order duck, I didn’t even have to ponder on how I wanted to make it. I immediately knew I wanted to make a reduced pomegranate syrup. I couldn’t tell you why I immediately honed in on pomegranate juice, but I did. And I’m so glad I did. I actually totally winged it as I made the sauce, thinking, hmmm, I’ll throw a little of this in, and OOOO! a little of this in! And this sauce turned out amazingly. Next time I’ll double it, even though it was more than enough!
So, honestly, I have never cooked duck and was hesitant AF. I mean, you think duck, so you think bird = poultry = chicken, right? But duck is a game meat. It’s more of a red meat, which means, unlike chicken, you do not have to cook it through. Actually, you really don’t want to cook it through. Duck is always recommended served medium-rare to rare. And why buy more expensive meat only to ruin it by overcooking it?
So, as I said, I was hesitant, but duck turned out to be probably the easiest meat I’ve ever cooked! I had absolutely no issues, it was flawless, and I can’t wait to order more and make it again! And, if you love duck and have always been tempted to make it at home, seriously, don’t hesitate to try. It is super easy, and if you follow my super simple recipe, you will have the most elegant, delicious duck dinner right in your own home!
Side note ~ where did I purchase my duck?? If you do a simple google search for duck for sale online, you will find a plethora of farms/companies that sell duck. The companies utilize a network of smaller, individual farms, so they’re not some conglomerate. There are a ton of different types of duck. As this is not a Chinese recipe, do not think getting a Peking duck from your local Asian market will give you the same results! I would recommend a Moulard to Muscovy duck. For this recipe, I used Moulard.
For those of you who have never had duck before, I can’t even begin to describe the flavor. No, it does not taste like chicken! It also is not as “gamey” as venison. Super helpful, I know! I recommend you trying it for yourself. The key to making duck, and venison, is a sweeter fruit sauce (hence the typical orange or raspberry sauces that normally accompany it!). The fruit sauces compliment the flavor of the meat. My pomegranate sauce is awesome with this duck breast, and I imagine that it would be delicious with venison too!
Anywho, if you decide to try this for yourself, please let me know what you think and how it turned out! And for any of you who celebrate, happy Valentine’s Day ❤️!
Enjoy!
Seared Duck Breast with Reduced Pomegranate Sauce
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: French, Sunday Dinner
- Cuisine: Dinner
Ingredients
2 – 12 oz duck breasts (or 4 – 6 oz duck breasts)
olive oil
salt & pepper
Pomegranate Sauce
1 cup pomegranate juice
¼ cup red wine
1 TB balsamic vinegar
1 TB brown sugar
1 TB honey
zest of 1 naval orange
salt & pepper
Instructions
Make the sauce by adding the pomegranate juice, red wine, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, honey, and orange zest to a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat before reducing the flame to low. Let simmer until the sauce has reduced by more than half and has the consistency of a thin syrup. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, with a sharp knife, crosshatch the skin-side of the duck breast, being careful not to cut through to the meat. Lightly drizzle with olive oil and rub lightly, on both, sides, with salt and pepper. Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat. When hot, add the duck breast skin side down and cook for about 4 minutes, or until golden brown. Turn over and semi-cover with a lid (ideally place the lid so that it is at a slight angle to allow excess steam to escape). Cook for an additional 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and place on a cutting board. Place a tented piece of aluminum foil over the duck and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
Serve over mashed potatoes and with desired vegetable. Drizzle the syrup over the sliced duck.
Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Keywords: Valentine’s Day dinner ideas, Valentine’s Day dinner recipes, duck recipes, duck breast recipes, duck with pomegranate sauce, duck with pomegranate syrup, pomegranate syrup, pomegranate sauce, reduced pomegranate sauce, reduced pomegranate syrup, how to cook duck breast
