Perfectly cooked duck breast topped with a sweet and savory pan sauce. The tart and juicy sweetness of fresh blackberries complements the earthy and savory notes of sage, resulting in a mouthwatering and elegant sauce that is the perfect accompaniment to the natural flavor of wild duck meat. Give this fantastic duck recipe a try today!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe:
Elegant: If you're looking for an elegant duck dish, this dish is sure to impress! The golden brown color of the duck skin drizzled with a rich purple sauce makes for a beautiful presentation.
Consistent Results: The sous vide cooking method is the perfect cooking method for consistent results. The water temperature keeps the meat from overcooking and a quick sear finishes the cooking process without drying out the meat. It turns out perfect every time!
Full of Flavor: The combination of blackberries and sage is the perfect complement to wild duck breasts. The ingredients reduce into a sweet and savory sauce that will leave you wanting more with each bite!
Ingredient Notes:
- Duck Breasts: This recipe uses wild skin-on duck breasts. You can use domestic duck breasts instead. You can also use skinless duck breasts and decrease the searing time.
- Duck Fat: This recipe calls for duck fat to sear the breasts in. If you don't have duck fat available, you can use your preferred cooking fat or oil.
- Blackberries: Fresh blackberries are used for this recipe but you can also use frozen, thawed blackberries.
- Blackberry Brandy: A small amount of blackberry brandy is added to the sauce for extra blackberry flavor. You can skip this ingredient or use unflavored brandy instead.
Equipment Notes:
- Sous Vide Machine: A sous vide machine is also known as an immersion circulator. Using a machine takes the guesswork out of sous vide cooking by keeping the water at a precise temperature, but it can be done without one. Check out this resource on sous vide cooking without a machine.
- Vacuum Sealer: While it takes a little more work to use the sous vide method without a vacuum sealer, it can be done. The water displacement method uses water to remove the air from a resealable plastic bag instead of using a vacuum bag.
- Cast Iron Skillet: A cast iron skillet is the perfect complementary piece of equipment for sous vide cooking. Since the meat is mostly cooked in the sous vide water bath, you need a very hot pan to quickly sear the meat without overcooking it. A cast iron pan holds heat better than most other pans.
- Fine-Mesh Sieve: For best results, a fine-mesh strainer is used to strain the skins and seeds from the blackberry sage sauce. The result is a super smooth sauce which makes for a more pleasant eating experience and presentation.
What is Sous Vide?
Sous vide translates to "under vacuum" in French. Sous vide is a method of cooking that involves the process of vacuum-sealing food and immersing it in a precisely controlled warm water bath. The meat is typically seasoned and cooks in its own juices for variable amounts of time depending on the type of meat used.
The benefit of sous vide cooking is keeping the water at a precise temperature keeps the internal temperature of the meat at the same temperature as the water. So, the meat never overcooks while it is in the water bath. However, meat can become mushy or grainy if it's left in the water bath for too long so it's important to adjust the cooking time depending on the type and cut of meat used.
Step by Step Instructions:
How To Make Sous Vide Duck Breasts:
The sous vide cooking technique is perfect for duck breasts because it gets the meat to the perfect temperature while retaining the natural moisture in the meat. The low and slow cooking time also tenderizes the meat. A good sear after the water bath results in crispy skin while keeping the inside medium-rare. Follow the steps below for perfectly medium-rare and tender duck breasts!
If your duck breasts have a thick layer of fat under the skin, score the skin of each duck breast with a sharp knife in a diamond pattern. If your duck breasts do not have a layer of fat under the skin, don't worry about scoring them.
Season duck breasts all over with salt and pepper.
Place sage leaves and butter in the vacuum bag then place duck breasts in the bag in a single layer on top of the butter and sage.
Seal the bag with a vacuum sealer.
Preheat the sous vide machine to 120 degrees F. Place the sous vide bag in the preheated water bath and cook for 1 hour.
Remove the bag from the sous vide bath. Cut the bag open with scissors and remove the meat. Remove the sage leaves and carefully pat the meat dry with a paper towel.
Re-season with salt and pepper if it looks like it has lost the seasoning.
Preheat a cast iron pan over high heat. Once the pan is really hot, add the duck fat and let it melt.
Immediately add the duck breasts, skin side down. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until the skin is crispy and golden brown.
Flip and cook an additional 1-2 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 125-130°F for medium-rare.
Remove the breasts from the pan and let them rest on a cutting board while you prepare the sauce.
Slice duck breasts into ½" slices.
Pro Tip: If your vacuum bags have a smooth side, place the skin on the smooth side so that the pattern doesn't change the appearance of the skin.
How To Make Blackberry Sage Sauce:
This blackberry sage pan sauce is truly the best accompaniment to wild duck meat. It has everything you want in a sauce - it's tangy, sweet, savory, salty, earthy, and packed with flavor. Follow the instructions below!
Turn the pan heat down to medium. Add butter to the pan and swirl to coat the pan.
Add in shallots and sage. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until shallots are starting to soften and the sage is fragrant.
Add in blackberry brandy and red wine to deglaze the pan. Bring to a simmer and season with salt and pepper.
Stir to combine then add in the blackberries. Gently squish the blackberries while they're cooking. Simmer for 10 minutes or until sauce is reduced by half, stirring frequently.
Strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer. Use a spoon to squish the blackberries through the strainer, leaving the seeds and skins behind.
The sauce should be the consistency of a thick syrup. If it is not thick enough, return the strained sauce to the pan and simmer, stirring frequently, until the desired consistency is achieved. Remove the sauce from the pan immediately or it will continue to reduce.
Pro Tip: This sauce is also delicious with steak and meaty fish like salmon. You can cook your steak or fish in a cast iron pan, then follow the same instructions for the sauce.
Other Sous Vide Recipes to Try:
- Sous Vide Pheasant Breasts
- Sous Vide Elk Tenderloin with Compound Butter
- Venison Steaks with Cherry Sauce
What to Serve With Duck Breasts:
These duck breasts will be the star of any meal you serve. They make a very special meal during the holiday season or for any other special occasion. Since the duck is the star of the show, you can serve it with simple sides like roasted vegetables, grilled potatoes, or a simple green salad.
Or to take the richness up a notch, serve it with risotto or duck-fat roasted potatoes. No matter how you choose to serve them, you're sure to have an elegant meal to remember!
Recipe FAQ's:
Duck breasts do well with sous vide cooking or searing in a cast iron pan.
Duck is more similar to red meat than it is to poultry. It has a very rich, meaty flavor and should be cooked like a steak. Wild duck typically has a stronger flavor than domestic duck depending on the species of duck used. Some have a stronger flavor than others.
Many recipes will tell you to cook duck breasts at 135 degrees F sous vide. But, if you want to get crispy skin and a good sear after the sous vide cooking, 120 degrees F works great. This gives you 10-15 degrees of wiggle room to cook your duck the rest of the way in a cast iron pan.
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Recipe:
Sous Vide Duck Breast with Blackberry Sage Sauce
Ingredients
Duck Breasts:
- 4 duck breasts, skin-on
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 4-6 fresh sage leaves
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon duck fat (or other cooking fat)
Blackberry Sage Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 2 tablespoon shallots, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon blackberry brandy (optional)
- ¾ cup red wine
- 1 ½ cup fresh blackberries
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Duck Breasts:
- Preheat sous vide machine to 120°F.
- If your duck breasts have a thick layer of fat under the skin, score the skin of each duck breast with a sharp knife in a diamond pattern. If your duck breasts do not have a layer of fat under the skin, don't worry about scoring them.
- Season duck breasts all over with salt and pepper.
- Place sage leaves and butter in the vacuum bag then place duck breasts in the bag in a single layer on top of the butter and sage.
- Seal the bag with a vacuum sealer.
- Place the sous vide bag in the preheated water bath and cook for 1 hour.
- When the meat has about 5 minutes left in the water bath, preheat a cast iron pan over high heat. Watch it carefully so it doesn't start smoking.
- Remove the bag from the water bath. Cut the bag open with scissors and remove the meat. Remove the sage leaves and carefully pat the meat dry with a paper towel. Re-season with salt and pepper if it looks like it has lost the seasoning.
- Once the pan is really hot, add the duck fat and let it melt. Immediately add the duck breasts, skin side down.
- Cook for 1-2 minutes or until the skin is crispy and golden brown.
- Flip and cook an additional 1-2 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 125-130°F for medium-rare.
- Remove the breasts from the pan and let them rest while you prepare the sauce.
Blackberry Sage Sauce:
- Turn the heat down to medium. Add butter to the pan and swirl to coat the pan. Add in shallots and sage. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until shallots are starting to soften and the sage is fragrant.
- Add in blackberry brandy and red wine to deglaze the pan. Bring to a simmer and season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine then add in the blackberries. Gently squish the blackberries while they're cooking. Simmer for 10 minutes or until sauce is reduced by half, stirring frequently.
- Strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer. Use a spoon to squish the blackberries through the strainer, leaving the seeds and skins behind.
- The sauce should be the consistency of a thick syrup. If it is not thick enough, return the strained sauce to the pan and simmer, stirring frequently, until the desired consistency is achieved. Remove the sauce from the pan immediately or it will continue to reduce.
- Slice duck breasts into ½" slices. Drizzle blackberry sage sauce over the top and sprinkle with sea salt, if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can use skinless duck breasts instead of skin-on and decrease the searing time.
- Fresh blackberries are used for this recipe but you can also use frozen, thawed blackberries.
- You can skip the blackberry brandy or use unflavored brandy instead.
- Using a sous vide machine takes the guesswork out of sous vide cooking by keeping the water at a precise temperature, but it can be done without one. Check out this resource on sous vide cooking without a machine.
- Instead of a vacuum sealer, the water displacement method uses water to remove the air from a resealable plastic bag instead of using a vacuum bag.
- If your vacuum bags have a smooth side, place the skin on the smooth side so that the pattern doesn't change the appearance of the skin.
- This sauce is also delicious with steak and meaty fish like salmon. You can cook your steak or fish in a cast iron pan, then follow the same instructions for the sauce.
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