The big secret? It's so damn easy to make: Score the fatty skin in a checkerboard pattern (let's more of the fat melt out while you're browning it). Put it skin down in a large skillet and put over medium-high heat. Cook for 8 minutes, until most of the fat renders out and the skin is crackling and dark brown (pour off fat into a small bowl as is accumulates). Flip over and transfer skillet to a 375 degree oven and roast for 5 minutes (Peking/Long Island) or 8 minutes (bigger moulard breasts), or until it's 125 on a instant-read. Let sit 5 minutes, slices and moan over the deliciousness.
That was less than 15 minutes folks!
In the meantime, I made a spinach salad (crazy fresh sweet baby spinach from the farmer's market that, thanks to the Common Ground Farm high tunnel project, I will be able to eat 12 months out of the year), shredded some spaghetti squash I roasted this afternoon and warmed with butter and a dash of maple syrup (only because this particular squash wasn't so sweet; normally they don't need anything but butter and salt). I had some leftover cranberry-orange relish from a recipe I was testing for Thanksgiving, so that got served with the duck. Applesauce will do just as well. It was cold in the fridge, so I warmed it up in the hot ducky skillet while the breasts were resting on the cutting board. Got to scrape up some of those tasty browned on bits to boot.
Pink meat, green spinach, fuschia cranberry sauce, yellow squash...a rainbow on my plate. Plus the kids ate all of it. The fact that our kids like duck confirms for my husband and me that all is right in the world.
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