Skin Like Duck-Garlic Candy

I spent Christmas in Paris (I know, what a good idea, right?). It was spectacular. I ate my way through the city of lights, walking around and looking at great art and architecture between meals, as a way to stimulate appetite. At the end of the day, back to the apartment for a nightcap of wine and Lyonnaise sausage before bed. Yum.

Courtesy of my friends Olivia and Emmanuel, I got to have a wonderful lunch at an actual French home, which was a truly lovely break from my wanderings from restaurant to restaurant. Plus, the food was outstanding.

Naturally, I meandered into the kitchen to watch the cooking. My French is good enough for chit chat, but not nearly adequate for real conversation, so I wasn't much of a loss to the pre-lunch atmosphere. Crowding over the stove, however, I searched my vocabulary to ask questions about how, exactly, the duck breast was being cooked, and what those vegetables were (turnips).

The upshot of all this was that I had an astoundingly good meal, and I left with a conviction that I was going to do my best to replicate it as soon as possible. So the other night, I did.

I bought a duck breast at Reading Terminal Market. In retrospect, I should have asked what kind of duck it was, but it was a spur of the moment duck purchase, and I wouldn't have known what kind of duck to look for anyway. In any case, the duck I got was much thinner in the breast than the French duck we ate. I don't know if this has to do with American vs. French duck, or simply the type of duck I happened upon.

In France, my host cooked garlic in oil, then threw away the garlic and seared the duck skin in garlic-flavored oil -- and ultimately also disposed of the vast quantities of fat the duck gave off. But I wanted to save the duck fat for later cooking, so I left the garlic until later.

Basically, I cooked the duck breast skin down and rendered a good deal of fat off, and scooped that into a jar, which now resides in my fridge, making me happy. Then I added diced garlic to the pan, and after a minute drizzled in some honey (the French cook had said this would caramelize the skin, and how very right he was).

By the time I had also browned the meat side of the breasts, they were more medium than medium-rare, so a bit more done than I had intended. I scooped them out and set them aside to rest, then added a few glugs of balsamic vinegar to the pan and reduced the sauce down.

It was nothing like the duck I ate in France, but it was fantastically delicious -- if still a little fatty. And the skin -- between the garlic and the honey, the skin tasted like duck-garlic candy. Wow.

Of course, I'll have to try again one day. I need to figure out how to render off yet more fat while cooking the meat less. A fascinating conundrum. Plus I need to invite Olivia and Emmanuel over to sample my version of Honey-Balsamic Duck.

Honey-Balsamic Duck Breast

1 duck breast

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T honey

1 T balsamic vinegar

Score skin of duck breast several times, cutting through the fat layer but not into the meat; this will let the fat render off. Put duck breast skin side down in cold pan, then turn heat on to medium low. As you saw when scoring, there is a huge layer of delicious fat under the skin; this will render it. When desired amount of fat is rendered, scoop it out with a spoon. It can be saved in the fridge and used to cook all sorts of yummy stuff in (potatoes are especially good fried in duck fat).

Add garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring, until aromatic. Add honey and stir to combine. Turn duck in pan, co

ok meat side down to desired doneness

(about 135 degrees for medium rare, 145 for medium -- or so I have read. I got to 145 without trying and then snatched it out).

Let duck rest. Add balsamic vinegar to pan and whisk to combine. Reduce by half.

Slice duck and serve, accompanied by sauce.