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Suggestions for Seasoning a Seared Duck Breast??

We cooked our first duck breast last night and we were very pleased.  In this case, to go with the rest of the meal, we seasoned it with cajun rub.  Does anyone have any suggestions for seasoning a seared duck breast?  Thanks in advance for your help.
Kelley 
Egging with No Joke Smoke (Bruce), enjoying small town life in Brenham, TX., the home of Blue Bell Ice Cream.  BGEs: XL, Medium,  1 MiniMax. 36" CookRite Commercial Griddle, and a Shirley Smoker.

Comments

  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Juniper berries are a natural with duck. I crush them with garlic, thyme, sage, peppercorns and kosher salt for about any cut.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • Botch
    Botch Posts: 15,432
    Not quite a "seasoning", but my favorite duck glaze:  half-part honey, half-part orange marmalade.  Stir together and warm it to thin it out, paint on the breasts before the last few minutes of searing.  
    _____________

    "I mean, I don't just kill guys, I'm notorious for doing in houseplants."  - Maggie, Northern Exposure


  • Trick with duck breast - score skin/fat and season with S&P - render skin side until crisp and then sear other side - always serve just shy of mid-rare.  Would think this is about the worst thing to put on an egg but might have to try to confirm.

    Glass half full vs glass half empty - either way we need to open another bottle!

    Big and Mini Eggs, Weber Kettle, Weber Genesis 330

    In heaven all the interesting people are missing. -  Friedrich Nietzsche
  • Actually, Cordork, that's exactly what we did.  Heated up the mini egg with cast iron griddle to about 500 griddle surface temp, let sear and render fat until it was dark golden color and crisp, flipped, then put on medium BGE at 350 degrees, indirect until it came up to about 140 degrees.  For our first time out of the shoot, it was very well cooked.  Just want to play with all the different flavor options. You should try it!  I want to try to perfect the cooking without having to use the indirect second egg though.
    Kelley 
    Egging with No Joke Smoke (Bruce), enjoying small town life in Brenham, TX., the home of Blue Bell Ice Cream.  BGEs: XL, Medium,  1 MiniMax. 36" CookRite Commercial Griddle, and a Shirley Smoker.
  • jlsm
    jlsm Posts: 1,011
    So you rendered skin side down direct? That is a lot of fat falling on the coals. 
    *******
    Owner of a large and a beloved mini in Philadelphia
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    edited October 2013
     
    corkdork said:
    Trick with duck breast - score skin/fat and season with S&P - render skin side until crisp and then sear other side - always serve just shy of mid-rare.  Would think this is about the worst thing to put on an egg but might have to try to confirm.

    Respectfully disagree.

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    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • We seared scored skin side down on a cast iron griddle, so there was no fat dripping into the fire.  Ours came out looking just like Little Steven's.  We are hooked!
    Kelley 
    Egging with No Joke Smoke (Bruce), enjoying small town life in Brenham, TX., the home of Blue Bell Ice Cream.  BGEs: XL, Medium,  1 MiniMax. 36" CookRite Commercial Griddle, and a Shirley Smoker.
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817

    If you love duck try this.

    Brome (Quebec) duck breasts, seasoned with crushed juniper berries, garlic, salt and thyme
    image
    Smoked at 200* for three hours with a little cherry
    image 
    Really good
    image 

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • Sounds great, LS.  Where can you get juniper berries?
    Kelley 
    Egging with No Joke Smoke (Bruce), enjoying small town life in Brenham, TX., the home of Blue Bell Ice Cream.  BGEs: XL, Medium,  1 MiniMax. 36" CookRite Commercial Griddle, and a Shirley Smoker.
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    They are hard to find. I get them from gourmet stores. I have seen them in the spice section of the supermarket if they have an alternate brand. Penzeys would carry them I think

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • LS

    I do believe that Bulk Barn carries juniper berries.  They are listed on the website.

    Tom

    Tom

    Charles is a mischevious feline who always has something cooking

    Twin lbge's .. grew up in the sun parlor of Canada but now egging in the nation's capital

  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Thanks Tom, I didn't think about that. The best ones I ever had were from a gourmet shop and they were kind of moist. That shop has closed now. I use them on a lot of stuff. If I knew a little more about it I could just pick them off a juniper in the back yard.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • LS

    We picked up our stash while we were living in France.  Now, if only the better half liked duck.

     

    Tom

    Tom

    Charles is a mischevious feline who always has something cooking

    Twin lbge's .. grew up in the sun parlor of Canada but now egging in the nation's capital

  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817

    Same here! She won't touch it. All the boys love it though.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • If God wanted us to eat duck, she wouldn't have invented chickens and turkeys.
    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Bet you would like red roast, peking and hoisin duck.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • I think I'd like anything with hoisin.
    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


  • ringkingpin
    ringkingpin Posts: 260
    edited October 2013
    Some of these pics are of Duck Magrets, the breast of the duck that is used for foie gras.  They are huge compared to normal duck breasts.
    One technqiue is to pre salt the scored fat side for 30-60 minutes to help dehydrate it a little and then you cook at low temp on fat side until the fat is FULLY rendered.  Nothing but a crispy skin, no white fat.  Then flip it and finish and pull of earlier than you expect.  The tipping point of medium rare to over done is very fine.  I enjoy duck both in a pan and on the egg.  

    "Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are."
     Brillat-Savarin