The market · Meat · Southern Europe, France and the north-west, East Asia

Duck breasts

Dark, rich meat under a thick cap of fat — cooked pink like steak, with the fat rendered crisp.

rich · gamey · iron

What to do with it

Rosa Ibarra's Clarified milk punch, mezcal and pineappleDuck breast would soften its edgeIbu Sari's Sambal ijoDuck breast would soften its edgeKenji Hara's Milk punch, with hojichaDuck breast would soften its edge
Classics built on it
Gascon and the South-WestMagret de canardThe thick breast of a duck raised for foie gras, scored, cooked skin-down until the fat renders, and served pink like a steak.No one here has made it yet

Kinds

Magret
From ducks raised for foie gras in south-west France: large, thick and beefy.
Barbary / Muscovy
Leaner and gamier.
Pekin types
Smaller and milder, with more fat.

Goes with

orangecherryplumfive-spice

Knowing it

Where to buy
Butchers and good supermarkets; magrets from French delis and online.
Worth knowing
Score the skin finely without cutting the meat, salt it, and start it skin side down in a cold pan over medium-low heat, pouring off the fat, for 10–15 minutes until crisp. Turn it for a minute or two and take it off at 52–54°C for pink. Rest it well.

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