Seared Duck Breast with Pinot Noir Reduction

The acidic, fruity flavor of Pinot Noir perfectly matches the fatty, slightly gamey taste of the duck.

Ingredients

• 4 ea. (28 oz) boneless duck breasts
• Salt
• Freshly-ground black pepper
• 1 ½ cups Pinot Noir wine
• 1 shallot, very finely minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Steps

1. Score skin of duck in a diamond pattern, being careful not to cut into the meat. Sprinkle on both sides liberally with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
2. Heat a large stainless steel skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 duck breasts, skin side down, and cook until skin is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Flip and cook 3 minutes. Move to a greased roasting pan and repeat with remaining duck.
3. Bake at 400°F for 12 minutes for medium rare. Remove and keep warm.
4. Pour most of the fat out, leaving 2 tbsp. Place pan back on medium high heat, add shallot, and sauté until translucent. Deglaze pan with wine and ignite carefully with a firestick, if desired. If you ignited it, wait until flames die before continuing. Bring to a boil.
5. Cook wine until reduced by ⅔. Slice duck on the bias and drizzle with sauce. Serve immediately.

More recipes with duck, wine or shallot

Adapted from “Seared Duck Breast with Pinot Noir Reduction” in the Wikibooks Cookbook by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Reformatted for this site; this page's recipe text is shared under the same license.