A friend posted the Christmas feast her husband Sam had created, which included duck breasts stuffed with herbs and garlic. It looked so good I searched for a recipe and found one for a duck breast version of porchetta. Quick and easy, this serves 4:
Stuffed Duck Breasts
- 2 boneless duck breasts
- 2-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, crushed
- 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 2-3 teaspoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper
In a small bowl combine the garlic, fennel, rosemary, Parmesan and olive oil until paste-like. Use a sharp knife to cut a horizontal slit in the duck breast at its thickest part to make a pocket (but be careful not to cut all the way through). Use your fingers to push the mixture into the pocket in the duck, filling it as much as possible. Pat closed. Sprinkle duck with salt and pepper on both sides. Score the skin in 3 or 4 places, just through most of the fat layer, so the fat will render out.
Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C.
Heat a heavy oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the duck breasts skin-side down (no need to add oil to the pan, the duck will render a lot of fat). Cook until nicely browned–about 10 minutes. Turn duck breasts over (skin side up) and transfer to oven. Roast 10-15 minutes for medium rare.
Remove duck to a cutting board and let it rest for 10 minutes. Slice, serve with the pan juices and enjoy!
My verdict:
This is one of those great dishes that looks really impressive, tastes great and is simple to prepare. We didn’t have any fennel seeds, so I used a couple of teaspoons of herbs de provence, lightly crushed before I mixed it in with the garlic etc. Always loving potatoes cooked in duck fat, I peeled and steamed a couple of potatoes, cut into chunks, and added them to the skillet when it went into the oven. Yum.
Don’t forget to save the duck fat. Run it through a coffee filter, or just pour it off carefully and put it in a jar in the fridge. Your next batch of potatoes or spinach will thank me.
For future, I’m thinking about filling the cavity with some of the ginger-garlic paste I have, maybe some sliced scallions and brushing some hoisin sauce over the top of the duck before it goes into the oven. What do you think?
Thanks Sam, I’ll try it that way the next time.
Hey Anne – I generally don’t cut a slit into the duck breast, but do a little hole at the thickest end, wiggle the knife around in there, and then push the filling in. I have also found that putting the breast into a cold pan give a crisper skin and renders more fat.
Thanks for the heads-up. Yes, the Parmesan gets mixed in with the garlic etc. I fixed the post.
Parmesan in the stuffing?