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Maple Miso Glazed Pan-Roasted Duck Breast with a Shaved Fennel and Citrus Salad

By Katy Sparks
When I tasted Bill and Elaine’s grade A dark maple syrup, I knew it would be a fantastic pairing with a rich and earthy duck breast. I added white miso for complexity, but in a pinch a simple drizzle of this very flavorful maple syrup with a dash of vinegar of your choice would be wonderful as well—it would be a kind of rough and ready gastrique, which is a classic duck sauce. And in the depths of winter here, we are lucky to get our hands on the greatest selection of citrus fruits from warmer climes, so let your eyes and nose be the guide on which ones to garnish the fennel salad.
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Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Magret (from the Moulard crossbreed) or 4 Long Island (Pekin breed) duck breasts (Moulard breasts are large, dense, and meaty, and 1 breast will easily serve 2 people or even 3 with more modest appetites.)

For the glaze

  • 4 tablespoons grade A dark maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons white miso
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated ginger
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar (or substitute 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar)
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari

For the duck breast marinade

  • 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated garlic
  • 1 teaspoon finely minced rosemary

For the fennel salad

  • 2 cups thinly sliced fennel bulb
  • 1 cup peeled and seeded citrus fruits in any combination with their juice
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • ¼ teaspoon sesame oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Fresh basil or cilantro leaves for garnish

Instructions
 

Prepare the glaze.

  • Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. Set aside for plating the duck.

Marinate the duck breast.

  • Crosshatch the fat side of the duck in quarter-inch increments without cutting through to the meat. Mix together marinade ingredients. Rub the fat side and lean side with the mixture and let sit in the fridge 2 to 4 hours before cooking.

Cook the duck.

  • Bring the duck to room temperature for about 40 minutes before cooking. Season both sides liberally with salt and pepper. Heat a heavy bottom skillet to medium-low, and lay duck fat-side down. You will want to go low and slow to render out a good amount of the fat. Keep tipping out the fat and reserve for other uses. Once the fat side is nicely browned and crispy (~10 to 15 minutes), turn over and cook on the meat side until the duck is cooked to medium—about 140° internal temperature. Let the duck rest for up to 5 minutes before slicing thinly.

Prepare the fennel salad, plate duck and glaze.

  • Combine all the fennel salad ingredients just before serving the duck. Serve salad on the side of the thinly sliced duck. Drizzle the sliced duck with the maple miso glaze (no need to heat the glaze) and serve the remainder at the table.

Notes

PHILIPPE JEANJEAN’S SUGGESTED WINE PAIRING
This dish is packed with umami, so we need a wine to balance its richness. The ideal choice is a red with low tannins and high acidity. Try a Gamay from Oregon or Beaujolais, a Barbera from Piemonte, or even a Grenache from the Rhône Valley.
PHOTOGRAPH BY MARK LOADER