Pan-Seared Duck Breast with Blueberry Sauce

I loved this dish, with a few modifications. I made it for two, but still had a lot of the sauce left over, so I would half that part, (except for the Jalapeño...needed more)I used bacon instead of pancetta. Added a little smokiness and the fat needed to cook the shallots and mushrooms. Also so oil or butter in the pan for the duck. The duck fat is plenty! I used my cast iron skillet for a nice crust, and reduced the cooking time for the duck to be med-rare. (140-45 degrees).

Very good recipe. We all loved the blueberry sauce. Seemed weird while I was making it, but got rave reviews from the fam. I have made the sauce a few other times by itself to put over other meat. I am not a big fan of bok choy so I used spinach instead. I also didn't cook as long.

THIS WAS AMAZING! My husband said it was the best meal he ever had. I agree with the top review. If you make it for two, halve the blueberry dressing, use bacon, and don't cook the duck too long! Well worth the time and effort.

Absolutely delicious! I used maple syrup instead of sugar, prepared the sauce well in advance and then marinated the duck breasts in the sauce for 30 minutes before cooking (I made a couple deep slices in each breast to help the sauce penetrate the meat). I served the duck simply with steamed fingerling potatoes - delicious!

Yummy recipe the blueberry sauce was good but took a long time to have the consistency I wanted >1 hour. I had no drippings from the pancetta so used so, but the mushrooms made some liquid as they cooked. Cooked the duck 10 minutes each side. My husband loved it for his birthday dinner, said it was the best duck ever. I also used 1 lb of white mushrooms as we do not like shitakes

good all around idea, i added cream then butter at the end to turn it into a bluberry cream sauce, also the breasts are way over done at that temperature you want them to be more a med-rare to medium its game not poultry so there is no risk of salmonella

Fantastic dish. Served on top of mashed potatoes. Great presentation but a little dark in colour. Delicious!

This was really spectacular! We had to change some ingredients to what was available but it was still amazing! DH said it's one of the best meals I've ever cooked! We halved the sauce and still had enough for 4 more servings. This was so great, we can't wait to invite people over just so we can make it again!!!

Oh wow!! I was a little skeptical about the combination of duck/blueberries/bokchoy but it was SOOOO tasty!! I was cooking for 2 and cut everything in half but used a whole jalapeno and about half of the sugar in the sauce. Also had to do without pancetta as the piece I had in the fridge was bad and I was out of bacon...but oh MY this was one tasty meal! My only "issue" is that the potatoes, while tasty, were not quite right with the rest of the meal... maybe a nice rice pilaf or a salad....

I loved this recipe. I did make some changes, however, because my boyfriend and his family aren't much for leafy greens. Instead of bok choy, I cooked asparagus, so the green color could still be on the plate and have a nice vegetable, but not the leafy texture. I also did veto the mushrooms because I'm not a fan, but still think they would have been excellent, even with the asparagus. As for the jalapeno, I was not sure if I should include the seeds or not. I didn't because I was afraid it would be too hot and I think it turned out lovely. I also kept the blueberry sauce on low for the entire time I was cooking for the thick consistency. The potatoes are great, but I recommend replacing two tablespoons of the olive oil with butter and cooking them at 350 instead of 375. They will burn less and taste better. Overall this a great recipe that has lots of rooms to play with. I have made it two time now and it just keeps turning out better the more I try it. My biggest tip is to be very careful to not overcook the duck if you did not buy it from the store. Wild game can get very tough when overcooked. I belong to a hunting family, so if you do not, it's not something everyone knows. But again, great recipe. If you think it sounds weird, like my boyfriend did at first, don't fret. This is now his favorite way to eat duck and requests it every time he shoots one. Hope this helped!

The rich and varied ingredient list made me think that this would be the perfect dish for some wild duck breasts that a friend gave us. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough to take the gamey-ness out of the meat and the overall sentiment of our family was that the flavors were just too overpowering - too many different tastes that didn't seem to mesh well. I don't know if it would be different with store-bought duck, but I probably won't be giving this a second try:(

Amazing! I despise bok choy, but got some in our CSA box. The bok choy/veggies came out phenomenal, so good I'd eat it plain. Everything else was awesome, and the different foods all tasted so good together. I cannot wait to make this again. Oh, a couple FYI's: used bacon, which I think was the secret to the yummy veggies, and I have a ton of blueberry sauce left over. Wish I'd halved it.

Made it tonight and it was very good. The Sauce did not thicken even though I kept it on low for 45 minutes. Still good though. Looking for suggestion on how to get that syrup consistency. The pancetta I had did not produce much fat/oil so I sliced off some of the fat from the duck breast. I used the Hudson valley Foie Gras duck breasts and made a crisscross pattern in them to help render more of the fat. I use a cast iron skillet as well and put it on the grill to keep the mess as a minimum. No butter or oil in the skillet as the duck breast renders about 2/3 cup of oil. Can you say French fries! The potatoes were good, but I think some fingerlings would be more elegant. 08 A to Z Pinot linked up very well. I also used 1/3 cup of chicken stock when I put the Baby Bok choy in the pan.

Great tasting dish since duck usually gets a bad rap. I will make it again and again. The only problem I had was that the blueberry sauce did not thicken up even when I tried thickener...but it was still good.

Made it exactly for Christmas dinner and it was excellent!

you just can't go wrong with this recipe... thanks so much for sharing it we use it often and will continue..... awesome flavor and excellent show off of a dish.....

Only used the the parts for the duck seasoning and the sauce. In the sauce I used strawberry wine instead of apple juice. This was great!!

this was great!!the blueberrys and tyme blend with the duck!ymm

Seriously delicious! I had a similar dish at a local gem of a restaurant and later found this on here. I must say this sauce was even better than the expensive (but worth it) restaurant! Thank you for this recipe.

No deviation from recipe. Wonderful meal, will do this again.

Like other reviewers, I cooked the blueberry sauce a long time (over an hour) before it reached a good consistency. The potatoes were excellent & paired well with the wonderfully tasting bok choy. I shall make the veggies again adding a bit more pancetta to start cooking the shallots & mushrooms. The duck did not need to cook as long as directed & we found it rather bland. I scored the fat layer so it would render a bit quicker. Perhaps some extra time with the spice layer or marinading like another reviewer mentioned would help.

Loved it! Thank you

My husband harvested the ducks and we used this recipe. It turned out amazing! A new favorite.

Turned out great! I used huckleberries instead of blueberries and it added a really nice tang to it.

We LOVED this dish!! I made it to recipe for two. I found for timing purposes that all your prep be finished before hand. Delicious recipe, the only thing I would say is to maybe half the blueberry recipe, we have a lot left over. Also if you like a bit of spice I would add a little more of the jalapeno pepper, the flavor was a bit lost with the blueberries. All and all great dish!!

Made this for our company tonight. It was a hit. My wife was skeptical on the blueberry sauce but loved it. It all went so well with each other. Blueberry sauce didn't thicken like others had said. So I added some flour+water to thicken it up. Would try this again and again and again.

Great recipe. Made a few modifications, which I think made for a healthier dinner 1/2 Sweet Potatoes, half regular Cured, as in uncooked, candian bacon instead of panchetta. Seared in olive oil very thin slices, 10 seconds a side and put on a plate to be used later. Less fat but all the smokey flavor. Added more olive oil to make up for the lack of drippings. Cooked the duck breasts as called for, 5 minutes on skin side, 2 minutes on other side. Then, removed and discarded the skin and seared the now exposed side until medium rare (our preference) With the bacon, rolled small pieces of the duck with cornichons, held together with a tookpick. Kids loved it. Blueberry sauce, substituted a very ripe mango, sliced thin for the called for 1/4 cup of sugar. Perhaps not as sweet but all the blueberry flavor and good enough to put on your pancakes the next morning. We didn't do the jalapeno so not sure how that would work.

We had this for Christmas dinner and it was amazing. Left out jalapeno per request of one person and didn't miss - there were so many other interesting flavors. I personally found the rub a bit salty and would decrease the salt by half next time. We cooked it to medium rare - perfection! Also, not enough of the veggies ! They were so good I was wanting more. Our duck breasts I ordered from a reputable on line site and they came fresh and securely wrapped and insulated on the 23rd. Between the duck ( meaty and tender), this recipe, and good wine our meal would put many restaurants to shame! Lots of pots to clean but worth it! Also, careful turning the duck - hot grease splatters !

Sauce Review I had a whole duck and I used this recipe to make the sauce. The sauce was amazing with the duck!!! I wish I had friends nearby to have shared this with them . Making the sauce was easy. I cut back on the amount of blueberries and reduced the sugar amount (used Brown sugar too). It took longer than 10 min to reduce for me, but I'm an amateur. Keep an eye on it though, I heated mine a little too long and it was more like a jelly instead of a sauce but it was still awesome. Worth the time!

This is very good, I did alter the blueberry sauce by cutting the amount in half, cutting out the water, and only adding 3 TBS of sugar.

This was really good! It gave an opportunity for my husband and I cook together. I did prep and he took care of the duck. Definitely will make again.

My first time cooking duck and it turned out great. The sauce took a long time to cook down and then I used little blender to help thicken it and break up the blue berries. I saved the extra sauce for other meat dishes. So good!!! All of it great!!!!

Made it according to the recipe and really enjoyed it. Sauce was so good!

Great recipe! I was a little worried to try this recipe, as not too many people reviewed it - and I am not a very experienced cook. But I ended up trying it and I loved it. I skipped pancetta/bacon, as I did not have any (and I am trying to reduce greasiness), but it was still very good (and I am sure it would be even more delicious with these ingredients).

It is a bit charlenging, however very good love the blueberries sauce, the shallots,mushrooms and boychoy wow so good

It was just all right. I have never see a breast with bones. I don't think duck needs oil and butter.

I would definitely make this again. I substituted applesauce for apple juice and green chili salsa for the the jalapeños since I didn't have those ingredients and was too lazy to go to store, and the sauce was still tasty.

This was very good. I couldn’t get bok Choy so I subbed 2 bundles or asparagus and feel it worked well. The blueberry syrup could have been halved as we had quite a bit leftover.

I'm grateful this recipe turned out Excellent!! Absolutely 💯 delicious. I'm glad because I thought this recipe was lots of work. But I will make this again.
I made no changes in the recipe.

The blueberry sauce is a perfect compliment to the duck!

This is a wonderful recipe - my husband and I absolutely loved it. I did make quite a few modifications to fit what I had in the fridge, and what our preferences are. I made the sauce first, halving the recipe (but keeping the whole jalapeño). I kept potato recipe as is, but instead of the bok choy, I roasted brussel sprouts at the same temperature; turning both every ten minutes. While that was cooking, I crisped the bacon and caramelized the onions (leaving out mushrooms). Using the same skillet, I cooked the duck, which I reduced the cook time for med-rare. While the duck was resting, I warmed up the jam, and threw the onions, bacon, and potatoes in the skillet to give them a quick brown and crispness (using half the duck fat). It was delicious! Enjoy!

The duck was fabulous! The potatoes sublime! However, I would not use the bok choy with this dish. That is why I gave this recipe 4 instead of 5 stars. Maybe some green beans or Brussels sprouts. I also made a couple of changes. I added 1 clove smashed garlic and a quarter teaspoon cayenne. That gave it a nice kick my family likes. But other than that, the recipe is just yummy! In fact, we planned on leftovers. That didn’t work out!