SPICE-RUBBED SOUS VIDE DUCK BREAST
A slow-cooking technique turns a challenging main into a relaxing breeze.
BY JAMES NORTON
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James Norton / Heavy Table
One of the many nice things about shopping at a co-op is knowing that you'll have a wide variety of well-sourced poultry on hand, meaning that you can swing by on a weeknight and be eating a fancy-pants duck recipe like this one without too much fuss or worry.
This recipe (adapted here from its original source, the cookbook Maydan by Rose Previte) leans on a sous vide immersion cooker to do the bulk of the work: cooking your duck breasts through evenly before their final sear in cast iron. While duck can be a challenging protein to work with, sous vide takes out a lot of the trickiness and lets you substitute "time" for "risk," always a trade I'm happy to make in the kitchen.
If you don't have a sous vide immersion cooker ... well, I would highly recommend getting one. It's the only way I'll cook steak these days (with a high-temperature sear to finish), and it can yield some really terrific fish filet recipes as well.
James Norton / Heavy Table
This recipe revolves around a specific spice blend, but if you don't have it in the kitchen or care to assemble it yourself, you've got other roads you can travel. Confession time: for years I have liberally exchanged, intermixed, and sometimes accidentally confused Middle Eastern spice blends including Ras el Hanout, Baharat, Syrian 7-Spice, and Yemeni Poultry Spice. Not once have I regretted playing fast and loose with these blends, which all convey depth, complexity, and a warm, comforting sense of substance. This recipe as originally written in Maydan called for Ras el Hanout; I used Baharat instead, and it was also terrific. Use whatever you've got on hand, or compose your own Baharat (see below) on the fly.
James Norton / Heavy Table
SPICE-RUBBED SOUS VIDE DUCK BREAST
2 boneless duck breasts (7-8 ounces)
4 tsp baharat (see below), ras el hanout, or other poultry-friendly spice blend
2 tsp kosher salt
Flaky sea salt for serving
Sweet tomato jam (see below) for serving
Rub the meaty side of the duck breasts with spice blend.
Place the duck breasts in a zip-top bag or cryo-vac and sous vide at 130 F for at least 45 minutes and up to 4 hours. (I usually go for about 2 hours.)
Take the duck breasts out of the bag and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Season both sides of the breasts with kosher salt.
Put the breasts skin side down into a cast-iron pan over medium-low heat and cook until well-browned, about 20 minutes. Spoon off rendered fat as it accumulates. [1]
Increase heat to medium and flip breasts over. Cook for 1-2 minutes to sear meaty side, going for about 130 F internal temperature for medium-rare breasts. Remove from heat and let rest for 5-7 minutes.
Prepare a serving platter with a smear of tomato jam (see below) and cut each breast crosswise into 6-8 slices and arrange them on the jam. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
James Norton / Heavy Table
BAHARAT
Stir together and then store in a sealed container:
1/4 cup sweet paprika
1/4 cup ground cumin
2 Tbsp freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
James Norton / Heavy Table
SWEET TOMATO JAM
1 can (28 oz.) of diced tomatoes, drained
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp tomato paste
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
2 Tbsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
In large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until softened, about 30 seconds, then add tomato paste and cook for two minutes.
Stir in tomatoes, sugar, sesame seeds, and cinnamon sticks. Bring mixture to boil, then reduce to gentle simmer and cook until flavors have melded, 35-40 minutes, stirring as necessary to prevent sticking. If you're left with excess moisture at the end of the process, you can continue to cook it down, or even use a ladle to remove some of it by hand.
Remove pot from heat, remove cinnamon sticks, and stir in vinegar and salt, and taste for seasoning. Cool completely, and store in tightly covered container for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
FOOTNOTES
[1] EDITOR'S NOTE: You should, of course, definitely save that accumulated duck fat, and put it in a glass container for refrigerated storage. The day after making this duck recipe, I combined peeled and cubed Yukon gold potatoes, duck fat, chopped up bits of leftover duck, chopped onions, Baharat spice mix, salt, and pepper to make a pretty damned delicious duck hash for lunch.