Magret with Red Wine and Shallots

Perfectly cooked medium-rare magret — duck breast — is a delight: rosy, juicy, tender, super-flavorful, and extremely French. We like to keep it simple, bathing it in a simple pan sauce made by sweating shallots in the pan while the magret rests, then deglazing it with red wine. It’s a dish that has confounded many a good cook, as it’s easy to overcook. The trick is cooking it long enough so that much of the thick layer of fat under the skin renders, but not so long that it’s overcooked: It’s best eaten medium-rare, or just a shade past. If you take it slow and cook it low, you can get a gorgeous crisp skin and perfect deep pink juicy flesh every time. Be sure to let it rest the full 10 minutes, and it’ll be marvelously tender. Serve it with haricots verts and (if you’re feeling expansive) roasted potatoes, a gratin dauphinois or potatoes sautéed in duck fat.

“How to cook France’s favorite dish, something most Americans have never even heard of”

Which reminds us: Be sure to save the duck fat you drain from the pan before making the sauce. Simply strain it into a heatproof jar. It keeps covered and refrigerated for six months or more.

Finally, you can make this dish in less than half an hour, but do remember to take the duck breasts out of the refrigerator an hour before you’re going to cook them to let them come up to temperature. That way they’ll lay flat in the pan, and you can also control the cooking more easily.

(NOTE: Duck breasts can be purchased at very well stocked supermarkets, or online at D’Artagnan. If you’re buying shrink-wrapped duck breasts that come two to a package, try to get a pack that’s close to a pound; often they’re more like three-quarters of a pound. If you can only find smaller ones and you’re hearty eaters, you might add one small one. If you’d like to double the number of duck breasts, don’t quite double all the sauce ingredients; double the shallots but use about 2/3 cup red wine, 1/2 cup chicken broth and 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons butter.)

Serves two.

Ingredients

2 duck breasts, about 8 ounces each, removed from the refrigerator 30 minutes to 1 hour before ready to use

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

4 or 5 sprigs of thyme (plus more for optional garnish)

2 medium or 1 large shallot (about 2 ounces / 56 g), minced

1/2 cup red wine

1/3 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon butter

Fleur de sel or Maldon salt for finishing (if desired)

Instructions

1. Use a toothpick or a needle to prick holes all over the fat-side of each duck breast — about 25 or 30 per breast. This will allow the fat to render more easily. Generously season both sides of the breasts with salt and pepper.

2. Place the duck breasts fat-side down in a cold medium-sized skillet or sauté pan. Turn the heat under the pan to high. After about 30 or 40 seconds, you’ll hear the fat start to sizzle. When you do, turn the heat to medium-low. Let the breasts cook for about 15 to 17 minutes; they should be sizzling quietly as they cook. If they’re sizzling more vehemently, turn down the heat a bit till you get the quiet sizzle. After 15 to 17 minutes (depending on their size and whether you like them closer to rare than medium), flip them onto their other side. Now watch them carefully so you don’t overcook them. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted all the way into the middle reads about 130 degrees (for medium-rare). But don’t worry if you don’t have a thermometer; just pull them off and set them on a plate in a warm place to rest.

3. While the duck rests, pour off most of the accumulated fat in the pan through a strainer into a jar to save for another use. Leave just a teaspoon or two of fat in the pan. Place it back on the stove, turn the heat to medium-low and add the shallots and thyme sprigs. Stir to coat the shallots with fat and let them sweat, stirring now and then, for about 5 or 6 minutes, until they’re translucent.

4. Turn the heat to high, add the wine to the pan and scrape up all the browned bits of duck into what will become the sauce. Let it cook until it is reduced by about half, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth and any juices that have accumulated on the duck’s plate continue cooking about 2 more minutes, until you have about 1/3 cup sauce. Turn off the heat and remove and discard the thyme sprigs. Add the butter, swirl it in with a whisk or fork, then taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning.

5. Use a sharp knife to cut the duck breasts into slices (about 3/8 inch / 1 cm), cutting against the grain and on a bias. Reheat the sauce briefly, arrange the slices on plates, then pour half of the sauce over each of the duck breasts. Finish with fleur de sel, if desired. Serve immediately.

READ MORE ABOUT MAGRET: “How to cook France’s favorite dish, something most Americans have never even heard of”

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