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Danielle Alvarez’s glazed five-spice duck breast is guaranteed to impress

Danielle Alvarez
Danielle Alvarez

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Serve this sticky five-spice duck breast with persimmon, pickled ginger and chilli relish, and a simple radicchio salad.
Serve this sticky five-spice duck breast with persimmon, pickled ginger and chilli relish, and a simple radicchio salad.William Meppem

Duck might just be the most overlooked bird in the home cook’s repertoire but, judging by the amount that gets sold in restaurants, people really enjoy eating it; they just don’t want to cook it. It’s harder to come by in some areas, true, but I suspect there’s some fear of the unknown at work, too. The breast is the perfect way to start a new culinary adventure.

Whether you’re using a pan or a charcoal grill, it’s all about managing the temperature. Start on a low heat to render the fat, then turn the dial to crisp it up.

Combined with the sweet, salty and sour flavours of the glaze and accompanying relish, this is a dish that will impress anyone you serve it to. I guarantee it.

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Ingredients

  • 4 duck breasts

  • salt and black pepper

  • 1 tsp five-spice powder

For the glaze

  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

  • 1cm piece of ginger, peeled

  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

  • 2 tbsp honey

  • 1 pod star anise

  • 2 tbsp water

For the relish

  • 1 persimmon

  • 1 tbsp sweet pickled ginger, chopped

  • zest and juice of 1 lime

  • 2 spring onions, thinly sliced

  • 2 red bird’s eye chillies, thinly sliced

To serve

  • radicchio salad or buttered turnips

Method

  1. Step 1

    Score the skin on the duck in a diamond pattern, being careful not to cut all the way through it – you’re simply scoring it to render the fat while it cooks. To maximise your crispy-skin potential, leave the breasts uncovered in the fridge, skin side up, for one to two days to dry it out a little.

  2. Step 2

    Season the breasts with salt, black pepper and the five-spice powder. Place a saute pan over low heat. Place the cold breasts in the cold pan, skin side down, and cook for about 12-15 minutes until the fat has mostly rendered and the skin is starting to crisp.

  3. Step 3

    Crank the heat up to medium. Flip and continue cooking on the flesh side for about 1-2 minutes until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast says 55C (for medium rare). Flip once more and cook for a minute longer on the skin side to ensure it’s crispy (add a couple of minutes for medium). Remove from the pan and allow to rest on your chopping board for 10 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    While the duck breast is cooking, prepare the glaze by combining all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook until the mixture is quite thick and has reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Remove from the heat, discarding the ginger and the star anise, and set aside.

  5. Step 5

    Peel your persimmon and cut into quarters, discarding the thick stem and any seeds. Slice the quarters thinly and place in a small bowl. Combine with the remaining relish ingredients and season with a pinch of
    salt. Set aside.

  6. Step 6

    Slice the duck breast and then spoon a bit of the glaze over each breast, top with the relish and serve immediately. Serve with salad or buttered turnips.

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Danielle AlvarezDanielle Alvarez is a chef, recipe writer and host of Good Food Kitchen.

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Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/goodfood/recipes/danielle-alvarez-s-glazed-five-spice-duck-breast-is-guaranteed-to-impress-20230602-p5ddgm.html