A super easy recipe for oven roast duck breast. First, the skin is baked crispy in the pan, and then the meat is gently cooked in the oven, so you'll get a tender duck breast. The duck breast fillet is served with a sweet and sour honey balsamic sauce. Easy to make, and with only 4 ingredients a simple recipe that is also very tasty!
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Oven Roast Duck Breast Recipe
Would you like to serve something different? Something that is elegant, tasty, easy, and quick to prepare? Then consider duck breast.
It's a type of meat you might not think of. But well prepared it is delicious. It has a soft and refined taste.
And which is also an advantage. Duck breast is ready very quickly (in contrary to a whole duck). That makes a difference when preparing the food.
Below is a quick dish for any special occasion that can't fail! And the best part? The honey balsamic sauce is made in the same pan, with the duck's own juices - so nothing of that flavor is wasted.
What do you need for Roasted Duck Breast with Balsamic Honey Sauce
For the preparation of Oven Roast Duck Breast with Honey Balsamic Sauce you need the following ingredients (you can find the correct amounts at the bottom of the blog in the recipe card):
Duck Breast- A popular type of meat in China (think Peking duck, which is also very popular in America). It has a soft taste, firm flesh and it's red meat.
Balsamic glaze - (also sold as balsamic cream) delicious balsamic vinegar that has been reduced to a syrup (or glaze as the name says) making it velvety soft and fuller in taste.
Honey - the sweetener that makes the balsamic glaze less tart and gives a sweet and sour sauce.
Lemon - A second acidity, which makes the sauce just that little bit deeper in taste.
The Honey Balsamic Sauce for Duck
This sauce is the reason this recipe has been rated 5 stars by 21 home cooks. It's a real pan sauce: the rendered duck fat and the roasting juices from the foil go back into the pan, and the balsamic glaze, honey, and lemon juice are whisked in. That's why it tastes so much deeper than a sauce made in a separate saucepan.
The balance is what makes it work with duck. Duck breast is rich, red meat. The balsamic brings acidity, the honey rounds off the sharp edges, and the lemon juice keeps it fresh instead of cloying. Sweet and sour, not sweet.
Glaze or vinegar? I use balsamic glaze (balsamic cream), which is already reduced to a syrup. That means the sauce is ready in 2 minutes. If you only have regular balsamic vinegar, that works too: use 8 tablespoons instead of 4 and let it simmer 3 to 5 minutes longer, until it coats the back of a spoon.
Sauce too thin? Simmer it a minute or two longer, it thickens as the honey and glaze reduce.
Too tart? Whisk in an extra teaspoon of honey. Too sweet? A few extra drops of lemon juice fix it.
This sauce isn't only for duck, by the way. It's just as good over pork tenderloin, roasted Brussels sprouts, or a goat cheese salad.
How to Make a Perfect Pan Seared Duck Breast with Sauce
A recipe with extensive steps, the right amount of ingredients and which you can also easily print can be found at the bottom of the blog.
- Cut the breasts skin side in a criss-cross pattern with a sharp knife. Duck is best roasted in its own fat because that gives a lot of flavor. Because the skin of the duck is cut into a crosshatch pattern, the fats melt better and you'll get a nice and crispy skin.
- Place the duck breast in a frying pan and brown the meat. Bake the duck in the pan on both the fat side and the meat side and then place duck breasts in the oven. This keeps the duck from drying out. And pre-baking the duck gives it more flavor.
- Place the duck breasts on top of aluminum foil and wrap the foil around the meat to form a nice package and bake in the oven for 5 minutes. This time gives a medium cooked duck breast. By extending the baking time by 5 minutes, the duck is cooked through.
- Pour the cooking liquid from the aluminum foil back into the pan. Pour in the lemon juice, balsamic glaze and honey and heat until you have a delicious sauce. Serve with the duck.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I use balsamic vinegar instead of balsamic glaze? Yes. Double the amount (8 tablespoons) and simmer 3 to 5 minutes longer until syrupy. The taste is slightly sharper, so taste and add a little extra honey if needed.
- Can I make the honey balsamic sauce ahead? The base (balsamic glaze, honey, lemon juice) can be mixed a day ahead and kept in the refrigerator. For the full flavor, still finish it in the pan with the duck juices just before serving.
- Why did my sauce turn out bitter? The heat was too high. Honey and balsamic burn quickly. Keep the pan on medium-low and only heat until everything is combined and glossy.
- What do you serve with duck breast in balsamic sauce? A green salad (as in the photos), mashed potatoes, or roasted seasonal vegetables. The sauce is rich, so simple sides work best.
📖 Recipe
RECIPE CARD
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Ingredients
- 1⅓ pound duck breast , 4 pieces of meat
- 4 tablespoons balsamic glaze
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
All my recipes are written both in Metric (gram / ml) and US Customary (cups / pounds). Here you can select which type of amount you would like to see.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250 °F (120 °C).
- Pat the duck breast fillet dry with paper towels1⅓ pound duck breast
- Put the duck breast on a cutting board and cut the skin of the duck fillets with a cross-hatch pattern with a sharp paring knife. Make sure you only cut the skin and not the flesh.
- Heat a frying pan until it's very hot.
- Lay the duck breast in the pan, with the fat side below.
- Bake for 5 minutes on medium heat, or until the skin of the breast is brown and crispy, and turn, to fry both sides of the duck breast (you'll get a crispy duck skin)
- Bake another 3 minutes on the flesh side.
- Meanwhile, lay 4 pieces of aluminum foil on the baking plate.
- Lay each duck breast in a piece of aluminum foil and package them loosely.
- Lay them on the baking plate and put the plate for 5 minutes in the oven with an oven temperature of
250 °F or 215 °F. - Discard the duck fat from the frying pan, besides 4 teaspoons, and reheat the rendered duck fat on medium-low heat.
- When the duck breast comes out of the oven, unfold them a bit, and check if the core temperature is 126 °F (ca. 52 °C), otherwise put the duck breast filet back in the oven. After reaching the right temperature, pour the juices into the frying pan. Let the duck rest in the meantime.
- Also add the honey, lemon juice, and balsamic glaze.4 tablespoons balsamic glaze, 2 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Whisk everything and heat.
- Cut the duck into thin slices (or thick slices if you prefer) and sprinkle with sauce.
- Serve the remaining sauce as a side dish.
Notes
- Bake the duck in the pan and then continue cooking it in the oven. This keeps the duck breast meat from drying out. And pre-baking the duck gives it more flavor.
- You fry one in its own fat, which gives a lot of taste. Because the skin of the duck is cut crosswise, the fats melt better and you get a nice and crisp skin.
- The time mentioned in the recipe gives a medium-cooked duck breast. By extending the baking time by 5 minutes, the duck is cooked through.
- Refrigerator - Keep the duck covered in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Keep the sauce separately.
- Freezer - Place the duck breast in a freezer box or freezer bag. Place the sauce separately in a storage container. This way you can keep it for up to 2 months. Let thaw in the refrigerator.
- Reheat - Let the duck breast come to room temperature (half an hour) and then warm, covered, in a preheated oven at 350 °F (180°C) for 20 minutes.
Nutrition
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