You’ll remember this dish from our wonderful lunch at a small Normandy village restaurant: Le Lion d’Or. This picture features duck magret with sautéed mushrooms.
Magret duck does not have such an old history. The Story goes that Chef Daguin of D’Artagnan fame, had a starving customer come into his restaurant, too late for lunch and the chef had not much to serve him, but he had plenty of duck breasts waiting to be turned into duck confit. The chef seared one like he would a steak with herbs and… Duck Magret was born. Soon all restaurants in Southwest France had it on their menus.
Here is an easy-to-make version of this very French dish featuring duck breasts, a red wine sauce and fried potatoes. Yum!
Ingredients
2 large duck breasts
Salt & pepper to taste
1 lb fingerling potatoes (or small young potatoes)
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 cup red wine
1 cup chicken stock
Juice of ½ orange
2 Tbsp honey
Preparation
Pat-dry the duck breasts, and score the duck skin to form criss-cross pattern with a sharp knife. Do not cut into the flesh.
Season the duck breasts on both sides with salt and pepper.
Add the potatoes to a pot of lightly salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until fork-tender. Drain.
Using the bottom of a ramekin or your palm, gently flatten the potatoes.
Preheat the oven to 400˚F (200˚C).
Starting with a cold and dry oven-safe skillet, place the duck breasts skin side down. Cook for 12-15 minutes over medium heat.
Flip the breasts over and sear the other side for 1 minute. Flip to the skin side down, and transfer the skillet to the oven.
Roast for 4 minutes for medium-rare, or 6 minutes for medium.
Rest the duck skin-side up for 10 minutes. Do not discard the fat in the pan.
In a small pot, combine the red wine, chicken stock, orange juice, and honey and reduce by half over medium heat.
Put the sprig of rosemary into the skillet of duck fat.
Fry the potatoes until golden brown, 5-6 minutes. Season with salt, and pepper.
Slice the breast into ½-inch (1 cm) pieces.
Drizzle with the wine sauce.
Serve with the potatoes.
Enjoy!
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