The thick breast of a duck raised for foie gras, scored, cooked skin-down until the fat renders, and served pink like a steak.
What makes it magret de canard
From a fattened duck, thick with a deep layer of fat.
Skin scored and cooked slowly skin-down to render.
Served pink, sliced, often with potatoes fried in its fat.
Where it comes from
A magret comes only from a duck fattened for foie gras, which makes it larger and richer than an ordinary breast. For a long time it simply went into confit with the rest of the bird.
Cooking it pink and serving it like a steak is usually credited to André Daguin, chef of the Hôtel de France in Auch, around the 1960s — it has since spread across France and far beyond.
How it varies
Magret séché
Salted and air-dried, then sliced thin like ham.
With pommes sarladaises
Potatoes fried in duck fat with garlic and parsley, the Périgord way.