Duck Breast a l’Orange

A Classic Dish Simplified

If you’re looking for an elegant, easy entrée for a special occasion dinner, try making our simplified version of duck a l’orange.

Duck a l’orange is a classic French dish made popular by restaurants in the United States in the 1960s. Its traditional preparation method involves roasting a whole duck, making a stock from the trimmings (neck, gizzard, and heart), and combining that with fresh orange and other ingredients to make the sauce.

We’ve made this dish much easier to prepare while still hitting all the right flavor notes by using boneless duck breasts instead of a whole duck.

Tips for Making Duck a l’Orange at Home

To make this dish successfully, you need both a properly cooked duck breast and an orange sauce with the right balance of both sweet and bitter flavors. Our sauce is easy to make and achieves that balance with the simple addition of a splash of sherry vinegar and a few dashes of cocktail bitters. Read on for step-by-step tips on cooking the duck.

How to Pan-Sear Boneless Duck Breasts

A perfectly cooked duck breast is tender and juicy with a crispy, flavorful skin. Here are the steps you need to follow to get restaurant-quality results at home.

1. Bring the duck breasts to room temperature before cooking.
2. Score the skin in a crosshatch pattern, being careful not to cut into the flesh beneath.
3. Season the skin side liberally with salt and a few grinds of black pepper.
4. Place the duck breasts skin side down in a heavy pan (we like cast iron) and place it over medium heat (250 to 275°F).
5. Leave the duck breasts undisturbed until the fat has rendered and the skin is crisp and golden. This step generally takes between 10 to 12 minutes, possibly longer.
6. Once the skin has crisped, raise the heat slightly, turn the breasts over and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center reads 130°F for medium-rare (140°F for medium).
7. Allow the duck breasts to rest for 10 minutes before carving. The residual heat will continue cooking them to the perfect doneness, and the juices will be redistributed throughout the breast.

Once you get the hang of making pan-seared duck breasts, you might want to try our recipe for Thai Mango Curry Duck. It’s a delicious choice of protein to pair with vibrant Thai flavors. And, when you’re looking to roast a whole duck, take a look at our recipe for Roast Duck with Orange-Rosemary Sauce.

Different Types of Duck Breasts

Depending on the breed, boneless duck breast halves can range in weight from 8 ounces to 1 pound each, so before you start shopping, you’ll want to know a little about each type.

• Pekin (or Long Island) Duck Breasts: Pekin duck breasts are the most commonly available variety in US markets. They’re easy to prepare, mild in flavor, and each duck breast half weighs approximately 8 to 9 ounces.
• Muscovy Duck Breasts: The Muscovy duck is known for being leaner and having thinner skin than the Pekin. Individual breast halves usually weigh about 8 ounces each. Muscovy duck breasts cost a little more per pound than Pekin, but they render less fat during cooking, so you’re left with a higher percentage of edible meat.
• Magret Duck Breasts: Magret duck breasts come from the Moulard duck, which is a cross between the Pekin and Muscovy. They are almost twice the size of the Pekin and Muscovy (each breast half weighs 14 to 16 ounces), but they are every bit as tender, flavorful, and easy to prepare as their smaller counterparts.

Where to Buy Duck

Boneless duck breasts are not always easy to find in local supermarkets, so you may have to check with a specialty meat market or shop online.

Our favorite source for duck is D’Artagnan, a mail-order purveyor of quality meats, game, and poultry located in New Jersey. The duck products they sell come from birds that have been humanely raised on family farms without the use of hormones or antibiotics, and they carry all three of the duck breast varieties listed above.

What to Serve with Duck a l’Orange

We recommend serving this duck recipe with simple side dishes like a medley of white and wild rice tossed with toasted almonds and oven-roasted green beans. For wine, Gewürztraminer is our favorite, but a semi-sweet German Riesling (Auslese) is good too. If you prefer red, Pinot Noir would make an excellent pairing.

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5 from 2 votes

Duck Breast a l’Orange

By Lynne Webb

When made with boneless duck breasts, Duck a l’Orange is an exceptionally easy, yet elegant entrée to serve for a special occasion.

Prep: 20 minutes mins

Cook: 30 minutes mins

Total: 50 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

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Ingredients

• ▢ 4 boneless duck breasts
• ▢ Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 1 large navel orange, preferably organic
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ▢ 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth, divided
• ▢ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ▢ 1 tablespoon minced shallot
• ▢ 2 tablespoons sugar
• ▢ 1-1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• ▢ 1 cup orange juice, fresh squeezed is best
• ▢ 6 or 7 dashes orange bitters

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Instructions 

• Remove the duck breasts from the refrigerator 30 minutes ahead to allow them to come to room temperature.
• Being careful not to cut into the meat, score the skin on each duck breasts in a crosshatch pattern at 1/4-inch intervals. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
• Zest the orange into a small bowl, then trim away both ends. Following the curve of the orange, carefully cut away the remaining peel down to the flesh, then trim any stray bits of the white pith.
• Using a sharp knife, carefully slice along both sides of each membrane toward the center of the orange to remove the segments (these are called orange supremes). Set aside.
• Place the duck breasts, skin side down in a heavy frying pan over medium heat (about 275°F) to render the fat. You should see the fat begin to melt and hear a slight sizzle. If your duck breast is cooking harder than that, lower the heat.
• Without turning, continue cooking the duck until the majority of the fat has rendered from the breast and the skin is golden brown and crisp. This usually takes 10 to 15 minutes.
• While the duck fat renders, make the sauce.
• Whisk the cornstarch together with 1/4 cup of the chicken broth in a small bowl and set it aside.
• In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallot and sauté until soft and fragrant, 2 minutes. Stir in the sugar and cook until dissolved.
• Add the sherry vinegar, orange zest, orange juice and remaining chicken broth. Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a boil.
• Give the cornstarch mixture a quick stir, then add it to the saucepan and cook for 30 seconds.
• Reduce the heat and simmer, whisking constantly, until the sauce has thickened to a syrupy consistency, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper, remove from the heat and add the bitters. Cover to keep warm.
• Once the duck skin is crisp, turn the breasts over, raise the heat slightly and continue cooking until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 130°F for medium-rare (or 140°F for medium), 3 to 6 minutes.
• Allow the duck breasts to rest for 8 to 10 minutes before slicing.
• To serve, arrange slices of duck and several orange supremes on each plate, then drizzle the sauce over the top.

Nutrition

Calories: 340kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 34g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 143mg, Sodium: 457mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 15g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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