We're in the midst of the most beautiful season, the peak of autumn, filled with the blazing red of fall foliage and vibrant orange of pumpkin patches. Culinary speaking, autumn is a lovely time for cooking, with gorgeous seasonal ingredients bringing flavor and color to our tables, and the weather allowing for heartier main dishes with meats. Today we're featuring a duck breast recipe that highlights some of our favorite ingredients: earthy duck breast, sweet figs and voluptuous wine.
This duck breast recipe starts with boneless Muscovy duck breasts. Muscovy duck is fabulously flavorful fowl meat, with a bold and succulent flavor, much more complex than what you would expect. Paired with the sweet figs cooked in Beaujolais wine, it's absolute perfection - a sophisticate melding of sweet and salty flavors, a buttery on the inside yet crispy on the outside texture, and just a sublimely rich dish.
Cooking Tips For Our Muscovy Duck Breast Recipe
This duck breast recipe is simple, but there are some things to know.
- Muscovy duck breast should always be cooked medium (or medium rare). Overcook it, and it'll be dry and tough. So...
- Use a kitchen thermometer if you have one, to make sure you don't overcook it. Our duck breast is ready once the inside temperature reaches 120 degrees.
- Look for the ripest figs you can find, they're the sweetest! They should be soft (but not mushy), and have small wrinkles on the skin.
- You don't need oil or butter for this Muscovy duck breast recipe; the duck meat itself has enough fat to cook to perfection by itself.
- Save the rendered fat from the pan where you cooked the duck breast, this concoction is full of delicious flavor and perfect for sautéing veggies or potatoes
- Serve with your favorite red wine, especially great with Burgundy wine or Pinot Noir.