3 chef-inspired ways to cook Olliffe’s pasture-raised duck breast at home

We love the summer months for plenty of reasons: the sunshine and warm weather, the beauty of nature in bloom, and delicious meals cooked outdoors. Another reason to love summer is our pasture-raised poultry—a delectable line of seasonal products that includes Olliffe’s pasture-raised chicken and pasture-raised duck. These products are raised here in Ontario and offer tender, delicious, flavourful meat—a true seasonal delicacy.

It’s difficult to pick a favourite product between Olliffe’s pastured chicken breasts, whole pastured chickens and smoked duck breasts—not to mention our incredible pasture-raised duck eggs—so today, we’re going to focus on one thing: our skin-on boneless Ontario duck breast.

We asked the Harvest to Gather culinary team to share some of their favourite methods for preparing pasture-raised duck breast. Here are three recipes to try at home—if you have any suggestions of your own, please let us know in the comments on Instagram or Facebook.

Duck breast with crispy skin

Let’s begin with a classic. Start by making shallow cuts across the duck skin. Not deep enough to reach the meat of the breast—just scoring the skin. The cuts should be about 0.5 centimetres apart, first cross the width and then across the length of the breast, forming a diamond-shaped grid. This will help the fat render out during the cooking process.

Place the duck breast skin side down on a bed of salt. Leave it overnight in the fridge. This step will remove moisture from the fat and give you that super crispy end result. Rinse the salt off just before you start cooking.

Place your duck breasts skin side down in a cold pan, then gradually increase the heat until it’s sizzling. Your duck fat should be rendering nicely as the breast cooks, giving the skin a beautiful, crisp texture. Once you’ve reached an internal temperature of 130 to 145 degrees (medium rare to medium), remove your duck breasts from the heat. Rest for ten minutes, slice and serve with your favourite side dishes. This is an elegant, easy preparation to try if you’ve never made duck at home!

Simple steak-style duck breast

Another simple yet delectable option, this one requires less prep time but packs plenty of flavour. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. While it’s heating up, season your duck breast with salt and fresh-cracked pepper. Place it skin-side down in a cold pan set to medium heat, then cook until the skin is crispy. When it seems about 80% done, flip your duck breast to the other side (meat down).

Finish your duck breast in the oven until you’ve reached your desired doneness. (The butcher who shared this recipe recommends 135 to 140 degrees, but you can finish your duck breasts so they’re slightly rarer or more well done—it depends on your personal preference.) Rest the meat for several minutes, then slice thinly on an angle for best results. If you can cook a nice steak, you can cook a nice duck breast—enjoy!

Marinated duck breast over scallion pancakes

If you’d like to add some bold, Asian-inspired flavours to that rich, tender duck breast, this is the recipe for you. It comes from Olliffe’s own Chef James—if you see him in our Yonge Street butcher shop, feel free to ask for personalized advice!

Start with four pieces of pasture-raised duck breast, then make a marinade using the following ingredients:

• 60ml Hoisin sauce
• 60ml Shaoxing Chinese cooking wine
• 15g five spice powder
• 20g chopped ginger
• 20g chopped garlic

Mix the marinade ingredients in a blender or small food processor. It should form a slightly runny paste. Pour the mixture into a baking dish. Dry your duck breasts with paper towels and place them meat side down in the marinade. Sprinkle 5g of salt on the skin, which should be facing up. Cover and place in your refrigerator overnight or for 24 hours.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Remove your duck from the fridge right before cooking and pat it dry with a paper towel. Score the duck skin (same instructions as recipe #1—a lightly cut, diamond-shaped grid cut into the skin only, not the meat). Place the duck breasts into a cold, oven-safe heavy skillet with the skin side down. A cast iron pan is great for this recipe, if you have one!

Cook over medium heat until the duck breasts are gently sizzling. Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook until the skin is golden brown. Flip the duck so it’s skin side up and place the skillet into the oven for 10-12 minutes or until an internal temperature of 130 degrees has been reached. Remove from the oven, rest for 10 minutes with tinfoil covering the meat, then slice.

Serve your sliced, marinated duck over scallion pancakes (available frozen from international grocery stores, or you can make your own). Garnish with 1 cucumber that’s been sliced to thin strips plus two sliced green onions and a drizzle of hoisin sauce. If you’d like, add pickled vegetables, green chilis or chopped cilantro.

Thanks for shopping local

Thanks as always for shopping local and supporting regenerative food in your community. Olliffe is a proudly independent Canadian business and we appreciate your patronage. If you try one or more of these recipes at home, please let us know. Your feedback is always appreciated and we look forward to speaking with you.