French · Main
Magret de Canard
Cold-pan magret rendered glass-crisp, sliced rosy against a sour-cherry gastrique — Gascony by way of a June cherry market
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- Duck breasts (magrets) — 2 large (about 400 g each)
- Fine salt — 8 g
- Black pepper — 1.5 g
- Caster sugar — 30 g
- Red wine vinegar — 40 ml
- Red wine — 100 ml
- Brown stock — 200 ml
- Cherries, pitted, halved — 250 g
- Thyme — 3 sprigs
- Cold butter (optional, omit for dairy-free) — 0 g
- Star anise — 1
Method
- Score magret skin in a 1 cm diamond pattern without cutting flesh; season both sides.
- Lay skin-down in a COLD dry pan; set over medium-low heat. Render 12–15 min, pouring off fat twice, until the skin is thin and deeply crisp.
- Flip; cook flesh side 3–4 min to a core of 54 °C (rosé). Rest 8 min on a rack, skin up.
- Gastrique: melt sugar to amber; stop with vinegar; add wine, reduce by half.
- Add stock, star anise and thyme; reduce to a light glaze.
- Add cherries; simmer 2 min so they soften but hold shape. Season; discard anise.
- Slice magret 1 cm thick; catch resting juices into the sauce.