Sous Vide Duck Breast with Crispy Skin

A close-up image of sliced crispy skinned sous vide duck breast, served on a white plate with cilantro leaves in the background.

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Sous Vide Duck Breast with Crispy Skin

Crispy skinned, tender and perfectly cooked sous vide duck breast is simple and elegant! You'll cook the duck low and slow, then finish in a hot pan for amazing skin.

Prep Time5

Cook Time2

Brining Time12

Total Time14 5

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian, European, Western

Keyword: duck breast, sous vide duck, sous vide duck breast

Servings:

Calories: 279kcal

Ingredients

4 duck breasts boneless, skin on, about 5 to 6 ounces (150-175g) each, see notes
1/2 tsp flaky salt or more to taste
1/2 tsp ground black pepper or more to taste

Instructions

Season the duck generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Place it on a plate, skin side up, and refrigerate uncovered overnight before proceeding.
4 duck breasts, 1/2 tsp flaky salt, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
When you're ready to cook the duck, preheat your oven to Steam or Sous Vide, 130°F/54°C (100% humidity). For best results, seal duck in vacuum bags (I do two per bag for easy handling, but depending on the size of your bags you could do all four in one). Put the duck into the preheated oven for at least 2 hours and up to 4 hours.
When cooked, you can either proceed with the finishing steps immediately, or chill the duck for up to a few days in the vacuum bags. If you're proceeding straightaway, remove duck from bags and dry thoroughly with paper towels.
Place duck breasts skin side-down in a heavy-bottomed non-stick or cast iron frying pan (yes, we're starting with a cold pan) and set over medium-high heat until sizzling, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the skin is golden brown and crisp, about 5 minutes, moving and pressing the duck to ensure you get good contact between skin and pan. Turn and cook the other side until just colored, about 30 seconds. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
To serve, slice the duck breasts crosswise into 1/2-inch (12mm) slices and serve warm.

Notes

Buying duck. Many good supermarkets now stock fresh duck breasts; this is how I purchase mine. You can also ask your butcher to supply them; if they don't carry duck as a standard item they'll be able to order some in.
Do I need to season and rest the duck a whole day beforehand? It'll be better flavored if you do, but if you need same-day duck, just season, vac seal and proceed. It'll still be excellent.
Why is the duck pink? Duck breast, unlike the darker leg meat, is at its best served medium rare, so it will be pink cooked at the given temperature. If you prefer your duck cooked more, you can bump the sous vide temperature up a few degrees in your steam oven and aim for medium doneness instead.
Do I have to cook the duck in a bag? I am all for bagless sous vide in my steam oven. But I do find that this recipe works best with vacuum sealed meat. The fat surrounds the duck breasts better as it begins to render out during cooking, giving a more juicy and tender end result. If you don't have a vacuum sealer you'll be able to get a similar result using zip-lock bags with the air squeezed out.
What should I serve with my duck breasts? So many options here! Plum sauce, mustard or pomegranate molasses are great accompaniments, as is orange sauce made with fresh juice and butter or pan drippings from when you crisped up the skin. For side dishes, I like something carby (potatoes, bread, lentils, grains) as well as something acidic like a vinegar dressing on vegetables or salad, to cut the fattiness of the duck.

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