Perfectly Seared French-style Duck Breast. Magret de Canard.

By mid-December seasonal refrigerators in French supermarkets are full of local delicacies for Christmas luxury dinners: foie gras, escargot, oysters, seafood of all sorts, roasts of all kind, goose, and of course, whole duck and duck breast.

After spending some months in France nothing is more natural than serving Magret de Canard for Christmas Eve dinner. The preparation from the beginning to serving takes about 45 minutes and it requires your 100% presence.

For many years I had been afraid to handle duck breast - it had seemed to me beyond grand mastery to create a perfecly seared duck breast, the way they make it in France - tender, juicy, with crispy golden skin that melts in your mouth. But all of the hesitation is a thing of the past. After a few recipes and try-outs, I've aggregated this experience into this lengthy to read, but quick to implement, technique. 

• 2 duck breasts
• salt, pepper

1. Take the duck breasts out of the fridge and leave to come to room temperature, about an hour or so.
2. Wash and pat dry with paper towels. Do NOT season yet!
3. Preheat the oven to 200C.
4. Using a very sharp knife, score the duck breast by making long diagonal incisions across the duck skin going from top left corner to bottom right, 1 inch / 2cm apart. The incisions should be deep enough to cut through the fat but should not reach the meat. Once done, make incisions going from from the top right corner to the bottom left.
   This will help that duck fat melt faster and create that beautiful golden crispy skin.
5. Put the duck in a heavy frying pan skin-side down. Turn up the heat to medium-high. Once you hear the sizzle, set the timer to 5 minutes. Now duck fat will start melting and it will sizzle and splash all over the place - be careful as the sizzling fat can shoot pretty far. It helps you have a splash guard to put over the pan.
6. After a minute or so, you will notice the outer edges of the breasts start contracting. If you press down the meat with thongs on both ends of the breast for 30 seconds, you will have a perfectly-shaped piece and an even colour!
7. As the fat melts, you need to remove it from the pan as it will overcook and will taste bitter - you just can't do this to the pride of French gastronomy!
   Usually, I remove the pan from the heat, pour the fat into a prepared bowl, and return the pan back; about 3 times during the searing process. But you can do the same by removing fat with a spoon with a long handle. If you can multi-task, you can also baste the top side of the duck with fat and juice from the pan, while removing the fat.
   Reserve the fat for future use by freezing. But I generally have pre-cooked potatoes ready in an oven-proof dish. At this point I pour some fat over it, mix potatoes with some herbs de Provence, garlic, and paprika and put the dish in the oven.
8. After 5 minutes carefully, lift the breast off the pan. The skin should be golden and feel quite crispy. If not, you can increase the temperature and leave for another minute or two.
9. Flip the breasts over and immediately lightly salt the seared skin. 
10. Sear the turned-over breast for another minute or two, basting with pan liquid: 2min for small breast, 3 minutes for medium-sized pieces.
11. Place the pan in the oven (some move the breasts in a roasting pan). Now cook until ready - 6-7 minutes for rare and 10 minutes for well-done meat. A good rule is to compare the feel of the meat to your face:
    
    Cheek = rare
    Chin = Medium
    Forehead = well done.
    By the way, none of the magret (and steaks) served in French restaurants are well-done: they are medium-rare to rare by default. If you ask for a well-done steak (bien cuit), it'll be overcooked or burnt. French cooks just refuse to acknowledge another degree of readiness for meats that these two.
12. The last essential step is to let duck rest. This helps the moisture spread evenly. Remove the breast and place them on a cutting board, skin side up. Let it rest for 5 minutes.
13. Cut into thin slices. Serve.

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Cheater's Duck L'Orange

•  1 whole duck, about 5 lb
• 2 tablespoons 5-spice mix
• 1 can pale beer
• 2 apples / 2 oranges / 2 lemons for stuffing
• veggies for roasting: potatoes, green beans, carrots, etc
• 100g of any jam for sauce

1. Rinse the duck inside and out, and pat dry. Cut off tail, fat deposits and discard. With a sharp knife make diagonal incisions across the skin trying to pierce the skin but not the flesh (the latter will dry the meat). Alternatively, you can pierce duck skin in several places using a fork or a skewer. Both methods will help duck absorb the flavour of the spices and sauces and release fat.

2. Rub salt, pepper, and your favourite spices into the skin of the duck (I've used 5-spice mix with honey and maple syrup and a splash of soy sauce). Stuff lemon, oranges or apples inside of the duck.

3. Preheat oven to 200C or 400F. Place the duck in a dutch oven breast side up and pour 1 can / bottle of pale / light beer. Cover with a lid and forget about it for an hour.

4. Transfer duck on a rack of a roasting pan, tilt to drain any liquid from cavity into pan. Place vegetables of your choice (potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, etc) in a roasting pan and pour some broth out of the Dutch oven on top. Make sure that harder veggies, like potatoes, have been precooked.

5. With a brush baste duck with your favorite sauce and marinade. Typically, I take a spoonful of the broth, add more spices, honey and brush the duck generously. Orange / cranberry / rasperry jam will work as well.

6. Place the duck in the oven for 20-30 minutes. This will give it wonderful caramel color. For smaller ducks 15 min will suffice.

7. In the mean time, make sauce: take 1/4 cup jam (raspberry is my fav), 2 tablespoons whisky or cognac, 1/4C duck broth. Mix well, bring to boil, and leave to simmer on medium till the sauce becomes thick enough. Corn starch can be added to thicken it up.

8. Serve and enjoy!

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Toulouse Impressions: Gascony cuisine

Recipe of Cassoulet Castelnaudary in Carcasson

The Gascony area has had many scientists stupefied by what is called "a Gascony paradox": the diet in the region has the highest fat content in France, but people here live the longest in the country, while their blood pressure and coronary heart diseases rates are the lowest! The Gasconians themselves attribute it to the healthiest ingredients, garlic, wine, and Armagnac, of course!

Typical meals of the Gascony region embody three adjectives - hearty (as in rich), unpretentious (as in rural), and delicious. In spite of its proximity to Provence, the cuisines of the two regions have nothing in common. Quite opposite to the sun-lit Provence with the abundance of olive oil, vegetables, and a variety of meats and fish, in Gascony duck rules the table.

Duck is stewed, cured, poached, smoked, dried, fried, and roasted; all parts of it are utilized including liver, which is used for making spectacular foie gras; neck, which is served stuffed with truffles; gizzards are fried and used in salads. Finally, goose and duck fat is used instead of butter and olive oil.

The four most renowned dishes of the regions are these:

1. Cassoulet is the heart-and-stomach-warming casserole that signifies the richness of Gascony. The key ingredients are local white beans, duck, pork rind, and Toulouse sausage. I've also seen recipes that include lamb, pork, and even ribs. Very similarly to pilav there are dozens of recipes of the dish, each one claiming to be authentic. However, Toulouse, Carcassonne, and Castelnaudary lay most serious claims to the origin and the authenticity of the perfect cassoulet. I've had it in both Toulouse and Carcassonne and found the latter much tastier and more delicate, in a way.

2. Saucisse de Toulouse - the origins of this garlicky fatty sausage, which is a key ingredient of Caussoulet, is not being disputed by rivals. You'll many see shops in Toulouse displaying coils of uncooked sausage in the windows.

3. Confit de Canard - a centuries-old method of preserving duck legs is very much in vogue today. First, the meat is cured for at least 36 hours, then poached till done and stored in its own fat. I'm not sure if this process is followed to a "t" in restaurants, but the confits I had were incredibly tender and delicious, with a distinct flavor that is typical in duck. Usually, it is accompanied by potato slices, fried to perfect crispness in ... well, you guessed it - duck or goose fat!

4. "Foie Gras belongs to the protected cultural and gastronomical heritage of France".

French rural code

Is there anything else to be added? This is the dish that I had fresh and well-prepared. Its buttery texture and unique delicate flavor make a rare combination that would want me cross the Atlantic again!

The wine
The Gauls and later, the Romans knew what they were doing when settled in the territory. The sun is hot and soil rich and quite different in the terroirs, which are the perfect conditions for growing grape. Gaillac appellation traces its history back to the Gallo-Roman times and is the second-oldest wine-growing region in modern France. Cotes du Frontonnais - another appellation, which makes wine predominantly from the Negrette grape variety, which is rarely found outside the area. It is used as the dominant variety in both red and rose wines, and brings a perfumed character to the wines, which are best drunk young.

Armagnac - "It makes disappear redness and burning of the eyes, and stops them from tearing; it cures hepatitis, sober consumption adhering. It cures gout, cankers, and fistula by ingestion; restores the paralyzed member by massage; and heals wounds of the skin by application. It enlivens the spirit, partaken in moderation, recalls the past to memory, renders men joyous, preserves youth and retards senility. And when retained in the mouth, it loosens the tongue and emboldens the wit, if someone timid from time to time himself permits."

Cardinal Vital Du Four

Little needs to be said in addition to this quote of a Dominican philosopher, turned Cardinal, of the late 13C. Haven't experienced its effect on retardation of senility, but I certainly like the preservation of youth claims!

Somehow heavy flavoruful meals, light-textured wines, desserts, and Armagnac as the finishing touch, easily come together for a tremendous-sounding concerto of rural gastronomic sophistication it its purity and simplicity! Beware though, that if you have a lot to see and do, this type of food brings your mental and physical activity to null.

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