Duck Breasts

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TheNoodleIncident

Senior Cook
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
Messages
321
Location
NY
is it possible to buy duck breasts? my local supermarkets tend to have whole, frozen ducks, but not a package of breasts....any major chains tend to carry them? whole foods maybe? though butchers arent terribly popular by me, there is one within driving distance, so maybe its worth heading there

also, i want to grill them...never made this before - any recipes or hints on cooking it properly?
 
I buy duck breasts all the time. If your supermarket doesn't carry them, ask the meat manager to get them for you.

I tend to pan sear them but you certainly can grill them. the significant amount of fat under the skin will cause a lot of flare-ups on a grill. You may want to par cook them to render some of the fat off before going to the grill.
 
Our local regular grocery stores sell the frozen whole ducks (bought one last night!) and the high end psudeo-gourmet grocery store sells breasts. I don't remember what the cost was though, but it wasn't cheap (not that that would stop me).
 
good to know...i have a bunch of stores near me, so maybe ill just try another

can it be cooked to temp? its always still a bit red/pink when i order them, but that doesnt mean they arent fully cooked...the meat might just be that way?
 
I don't regularly shop at a "high end psudeo-gourmet grocery store". Actually, it's more of a middle of the road mainstream store and they have had the breasts for a while. I have to assume that's because there is a demand for them. They are pre-packaged by the processing plant, not sold loose by the store.

Cook the breasts to a medium doneness - pink in the middle. They will look well done - no pink - when cooked that way.
 
I guess it just depends. Around here, ducks of any kind are uncommon and duck breasts might as well be an urban legend.
 
hmm, guess they didnt like my original title....oh well:ROFLMAO:

well, you would think since i live on Long Island, i would be able to find duck more easily....i guess i just need to look more carefully

or buy a shotgun and get some myself
 
...well, you would think since i live on Long Island, i would be able to find duck more easily...

Today's supermarkets are all about serving the majority. However, around here, they are always very helpful when you ask them for something special. I have asked a meat manager for duck breasts and he offered to order me as many or few as I wanted. He offered to buy a box of them and sell me one and put the rest out for sale. They will grind whole pieces of meat for you or order just about any specialty item.

They are eager to please. At least they should be.
 
MDW and I go to a local farmers market. A farm vendor has fresh duck Musc... something. Breast and fresh duck liver. Made a duck liver mousse that was delightful. Below NYC in Griggstown NJ there is a farm for duck quail, turkey and if I remember goose. The place is between Somerville and Princeton
 
I buy them at my neighborhood Publix all the time. And when I lived in Shelby, NC, the Harris Teeter always carried them, and Shelby certainly wasn't the center of gourmet dining!
 
I think Andy M is pretty close on it. In demand and the grocery store will stock it. If not and asking is likely to get it ordered for you.

There are stores here that I know will have something that the others won't, only one store in this area stocks fresh pork liver though I suspect they will all tell me they can order it.
 
I live in a small town, and have never seen duck breasts anywhere around here, and only once before I moved here. I suspect I could kidnap the two local managers of the grocery stores we have (a Wal-Mart and a Piggly-Wiggly) and hold them for ransom before I could get duck breasts. They've even quit giving out suggestion forms that they used to formally ask for them to stock products. But, to be fair, there probably isn't enough of a market here for them. I very, very, very rarely see a whole, frozen duck here, and it is always when there is no room in the freezer and the wrong time for me to cook one.

BUT ... score the skin in a sort of diamond pattern. Season with salt and pepper. Then put in a skillet skin side down at med-high heat until the skin browns nicely. Turn down, turn over, and cook until it is done to your favorite degree of ... well, done-ness (surely there is a word for that, but mine is escaping me now).

You can put one duck breast on each plate, but it is fairly rich, and I prefer to slice it on the diagonal and fan it, and that way you can make (depending on the duck, and there's a lot of difference) it go for 3 or even 4 people that way. Drizzle with a sauce of your choice. Most like sauces that have fruit in them and are rather sweet. I prefer a less sweet presentation, the fruit being a dry red wine.

I think that a long grain and wild rice combo is the best side dish with duck of any sort. A light tossed baby green salad before, some green veg with, and a light, very light, desert after.
 
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