took friggin’ forever, which, given that we were snowed in, made it a frustrating experience.
After that, I decided, My God, I’ve got to learn how to cook duck. It seemed like something that most people don’t do, can’t do, and don’t even think about doing, but if I could figure it out, I’d have a real leg up. So I kept looking for recipes. And then I found a Mark Bittman recipe for pan-roasted five-spice duck. More than anything else in my repertoire, this is the one thing I’m most proud of. Everybody in my family knows—and most of our friends know—that Adam can make duck, and he can make this duck. And he can just nail it.
Recipe File
Duck Breasts with Five-Spice Glaze
This recipe is a combination of two different Mark Bittman recipes. His “Duck’s Day in the Pan” (New York Times, December 3, 2003) taught me how to make roast duck by quartering it and braising it in its own fat in the pan, then preparing the glaze. The problem is that fresh whole ducks aren’t always easy to find, and it’s a lot of work (and food) if it’s only two people eating.
Duck breasts, on the other hand, are easier to find and simpler to make in convenient, per-person serving portions. Plus, it becomes a meal that can be prepared midweek. As for how to prepare the breasts, Bittman’s duck porchetta (“An Italian Classic Redone with Duck,” New York Times, December 19, 2008) has proved reliable in terms of the times and temperatures. Therefore I make the following:
2 boneless duck breast halves
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
½ cup brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick, about 3 inches long
5 or 6 nickel-size slices ginger
4 pieces whole star anise
2 cloves
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Liberally sprinkle the breasts with salt and pepper.
2. Heat a heavy, large, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the duck breasts, skin side down, and cook until nicely browned, about 8 minutes. Turn the meat and transfer the skillet to the oven; roast 8 to 9 minutes for medium rare. (An instant-read thermometer inserted into the meat should read about 125°F.)
3. Remove the duck to a plate and pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat; leave any solids in the pan. (One thing I like to do is to take that fat and blend it in with a simmering pot of jasmine rice. It’s a bit decadent, but so is eating duck midweek.)
4. Place the skillet back over medium-high heat, add the rice wine, and bring to a boil. (Remember during all of this: that pan handle is hot.)
5. Add the soy sauce and 2 tablespoons water and bring to a boil; stir in remaining ingredients. Once the mixture starts bubbling, return the duck to the skillet and cook, turning it frequently, until the sauce is thick and the duck is well glazed, 5 to 10 minutes.
6. Remove the duck, then scoop the solid spices out of the sauce and discard the spices. (If the sauce doesn’t seem thick and glazy, keep reducing it for a bit.) Spoon the sauce over the duck and serve.
MARK BITTMAN
Finding Myself in the Kitchen
Mark Bittman has been writing and speaking about food for thirty years, much of that time for the New York Times. He is a regular on the Today show, a star on three PBS food shows, and the author of three blockbuster cookbooks, including How to Cook Everything, which won three international cookbook awards, the IACP Julia Child Award, and the James Beard Foundation Award—twice—and is now the bible of cooking for millions of Americans. His seminal book Food Matters broke new ground in exploring the links among food, health, and the environment while providing tangible guidance for Americans to rethink their diet.
Parenthood and the necessities of daily life taught me, as they have billions of others, to cook. And while I was learning to cook, I learned to work (and ultimately to love, corny as that may sound; but that’s another story). I did not, however, set out to
After that, I decided, My God, I’ve got to learn how to cook duck. It seemed like something that most people don’t do, can’t do, and don’t even think about doing, but if I could figure it out, I’d have a real leg up. So I kept looking for recipes. And then I found a Mark Bittman recipe for pan-roasted five-spice duck. More than anything else in my repertoire, this is the one thing I’m most proud of. Everybody in my family knows—and most of our friends know—that Adam can make duck, and he can make this duck. And he can just nail it.
Recipe File
Duck Breasts with Five-Spice Glaze
This recipe is a combination of two different Mark Bittman recipes. His “Duck’s Day in the Pan” (New York Times, December 3, 2003) taught me how to make roast duck by quartering it and braising it in its own fat in the pan, then preparing the glaze. The problem is that fresh whole ducks aren’t always easy to find, and it’s a lot of work (and food) if it’s only two people eating.
Duck breasts, on the other hand, are easier to find and simpler to make in convenient, per-person serving portions. Plus, it becomes a meal that can be prepared midweek. As for how to prepare the breasts, Bittman’s duck porchetta (“An Italian Classic Redone with Duck,” New York Times, December 19, 2008) has proved reliable in terms of the times and temperatures. Therefore I make the following:
2 boneless duck breast halves
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
½ cup brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick, about 3 inches long
5 or 6 nickel-size slices ginger
4 pieces whole star anise
2 cloves
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Liberally sprinkle the breasts with salt and pepper.
2. Heat a heavy, large, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the duck breasts, skin side down, and cook until nicely browned, about 8 minutes. Turn the meat and transfer the skillet to the oven; roast 8 to 9 minutes for medium rare. (An instant-read thermometer inserted into the meat should read about 125°F.)
3. Remove the duck to a plate and pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat; leave any solids in the pan. (One thing I like to do is to take that fat and blend it in with a simmering pot of jasmine rice. It’s a bit decadent, but so is eating duck midweek.)
4. Place the skillet back over medium-high heat, add the rice wine, and bring to a boil. (Remember during all of this: that pan handle is hot.)
5. Add the soy sauce and 2 tablespoons water and bring to a boil; stir in remaining ingredients. Once the mixture starts bubbling, return the duck to the skillet and cook, turning it frequently, until the sauce is thick and the duck is well glazed, 5 to 10 minutes.
6. Remove the duck, then scoop the solid spices out of the sauce and discard the spices. (If the sauce doesn’t seem thick and glazy, keep reducing it for a bit.) Spoon the sauce over the duck and serve.
MARK BITTMAN
Finding Myself in the Kitchen
Mark Bittman has been writing and speaking about food for thirty years, much of that time for the New York Times. He is a regular on the Today show, a star on three PBS food shows, and the author of three blockbuster cookbooks, including How to Cook Everything, which won three international cookbook awards, the IACP Julia Child Award, and the James Beard Foundation Award—twice—and is now the bible of cooking for millions of Americans. His seminal book Food Matters broke new ground in exploring the links among food, health, and the environment while providing tangible guidance for Americans to rethink their diet.
Parenthood and the necessities of daily life taught me, as they have billions of others, to cook. And while I was learning to cook, I learned to work (and ultimately to love, corny as that may sound; but that’s another story). I did not, however, set out to
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