Before culinary school, I had no idea what to do with a duck if asked to cook and serve it. Seriously. I had no clue. No one in my family raises or hunts duck, so I had never seen anyone prepare duck, nor had I ever tasted it. I always guessed it probably was cooked like a chicken and maybe tasted like it, too.
I was wrong. Duck, in my opinion, tastes BETTER than chicken and duck has a slightly different set of rules when it comes to preparation. While duck is poultry, there is no white meat on a duck like chicken or turkey. Duck is more like a red meat and I would compare the flavor and texture of a duck breast more to a lean steak than chicken.
So here is the dilemma for a chef. Should duck follow the same technical rules as we use for other poultry, such as chicken or turkey, and be cooked to an internal temperature of 165? Or should duck, and the duck breasts in particular, be cooked to lower temperatures and served like a tender steak?
According to everything I learned about poultry, proper internal temperatures of any bird is 165 degrees F to assure the destruction of salmonella bacteria, if present. In fact, the USDA’s official word on duck and all poultry is the following:
“USDA recommends cooking whole duck or goose to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F as measured using a food thermometer. Check the internal temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. When cooking pieces, the breast, drumsticks, thighs, and wings should be cooked until they reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F. For approximate cooking times for use in meal planning, see the following chart compiled from various resources and use a food thermometer.” Check out the USDA website to see recommended cooking times and cooking methods for duck.
However, other chefs I have talked to feel that 165 degree F internal temperature is “overcooked” for duck breast and that the texture of duck breast cooked to recommended temperatures is not as delicate as duck breast cooked to even a slightly lower temperature. In fact, according to the duck experts at Maple Leaf Farms, as directed by the chef in the Maple Leaf Farms Duck Breast Cooking Video, an internal temperature of 155 degrees F is an appropriate time to pull the breast from the heat. With carry-over cooking, the breast should reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees F shortly after removing from heat. When sliced, the breast meat should appear to be a light pink in the middle, which is acceptable for duck but certainly not chicken.
Duck legs, however, are better when cooked to the recommended higher temperatures. The texture of the meat is different on the legs than the breasts. I like duck leg meat to almost fall of the bone, so I leave the legs in the oven to cook until they reach an internal temperature of 180 degrees F. For this recipe, I pulled the meat from the bone before serving, so a crispy skin on the leg was not important. If I serve the legs whole with the skin on, I usually remove the legs from the pan of duck fat when the internal temperature of the meat reaches about 165 degrees F. I then place the legs on a clean sheet pan and put the duck back in the oven, turning the heat up on the oven to 400 degrees F. I usually cook the legs another 10 minutes or so, until the skin is a browned and crispy.
It should also be mentioned that the Orange Brandy Sauce can be made without flaming the pan as shown in the video. Whether the alcohol is caught on fire or left to simmer and reduce in the pan, the brandy’s function is simply to deglaze the pan. After pouring off and saving the duck fat rendered from the breasts, I do my best to retrieve the “fond” or “duck flavor” remaining on the bottom of the pan. The alcohol helps to pull that flavor up off the bottom of the pan, which can then be turned into a wonderful pan sauce. If Brandy is not available or if one chooses to skip the addition of alcohol altogether, use a little of the chicken stock to deglaze the pan.
Last, please note the following: To make duck successfully, one does not have to dance with the carcass like I do in the video. Last time I checked, the USDA has no recommended dancing times for the safe handling of a duck… With the accompanying music, however, I could not resist.