French Duck Breast with Green Peppercorn Sauce

Instructions

1. 1

   Mise en place: Pat the 600 g duck breast dry with paper towels. Score the fat skin in a crosshatch pattern without cutting into the meat. Season both sides with 5 g salt and 3 g black pepper. Finely dice 100 g shallots. Set a heavy skillet over medium heat without oil.

2. 2

   Place the duck breasts skin-side down in the hot skillet. Render the fat over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes until the skin turns deep golden and very crispy. Pour off most of the rendered duck fat into a bowl, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the skillet. If the fat burns, lower the heat slightly.

3. 3

   Flip the duck breasts to the meat side and cook for 3 to 4 minutes for medium-rare, or 5 to 6 minutes for medium doneness. Transfer the duck to a clean cutting board, cover loosely with foil, and let rest for 5 minutes. The juices will redistribute while you prepare the sauce in the same skillet.

4. 4

   Set the skillet over medium heat. Add the 100 g diced shallots and cook for 2 minutes until soft and translucent. Pour in 150 ml chicken stock, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Simmer for 3 minutes until the liquid reduces by half.

5. 5

   Stir in 20 g drained green peppercorns and 150 ml heavy cream. Reduce the heat to low and let the sauce gently simmer for 3 minutes until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. If the sauce thickens too quickly, add a tablespoon of water or resting duck juices to loosen it.

6. 6

   Take the skillet off the heat and whisk in 30 g cold cubed unsalted butter until glossy and smooth. Slice the rested duck breasts diagonally into 1 cm thick pieces. Arrange the warm duck slices on warm dinner plates and spoon the glossy green peppercorn cream sauce over top. Serve immediately.