Crispy Duck Salad
Duck breast scored, seasoned, and pan-fried skin-side down until the fat renders out and the skin turns glass-crisp. Sliced over fresh greens with a citrus-soy dressing, the richness of the duck meets bright, clean flavors.
Ingredients
- 2 duck breasts, skin on
- to tastesalt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 largecucumber
- 1 largecarrot
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 headlettuce, torn
- 1 small bunchfresh cilantro
- 3 tbspsoy sauce
- 2 tbsprice vinegar
- 1 tbsphoney
- 1 tbspsesame oil
- 1 tspfresh ginger
- 1 clovegarlic
- 1 tbsptoasted sesame seeds
- optionalcrushed walnuts or cashews
Method
- Pat the duck breasts dry. Score the skin in a diamond pattern. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
- Place the duck breasts skin-side down in a cold, dry skillet. Turn heat to medium-low. Cook for 10-15 minutes until skin is deep golden brown and crispy, pouring off excess fat periodically. Flip and cook for another 2-4 minutes. Rest for 10 minutes, then slice thinly.
- Julienne the cucumber, carrot and red bell pepper. Wash and tear the lettuce. Roughly chop the cilantro.
- Whisk together soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, sesame oil, grated ginger and minced garlic.
- In a large bowl, combine lettuce, cucumber, carrot, bell pepper and cilantro. Add half the dressing and toss. Divide among four plates, arrange duck slices on top, drizzle with remaining dressing. Garnish with sesame seeds and nuts if desired.
FAQ
The key to crispy duck skin is scoring and rendering the fat slowly before searing at high heat. Pat the breast completely dry with kitchen paper, then score the skin in a crosshatch pattern at 1 cm intervals, cutting through the fat but not into the meat. Place it skin-side down in a cold dry pan, then turn the heat to medium — starting cold allows the fat to render gradually rather than seize. Cook skin-side down for 8–10 minutes until the skin is deep golden and most of the fat has melted out, then flip and cook the flesh side for just 2–3 minutes. Rest on a board for 5 minutes before slicing — this allows the juices to redistribute so the meat stays succulent. For a salad, slice thinly across the grain on a slight angle.
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Comments (1)
Cold plates are a small detail that make this crispy duck salad noticeably better. Ten minutes in the fridge before plating keeps everything crisp through the meal. It's a restaurant trick worth stealing.