1. Pat skin of duck breast dry with kitchen paper, to help skin to brown and crisp. Using a sharp knife, score skin in a criss-cross pattern all way along breast, taking care not to slice through flesh. Season skin generously with salt and pepper and rub into skin.
2. Put skin side down in a cold non-stick pan that’s safe to use in oven. Using this technique gives fat a chance to render out of duck breast without overcooking meat or scorching skin.
3. Cook on a medium heat for 6-8min until skin is golden brown. Turn over and cook fleshy side for 30sec. Pour off fat.
4. Transfer pan to oven and cook at 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4 for 5-6min for pink or 10-12min for well done. When cooked, rest in a warm place for 5min before serving.
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Oak chopping board, Lakeland. ProChef’s knife, Pro Boning knife, Zwilling J.A. Henckels. White China oval plate, Sophie Conran. Impressions ceramic ramekins, Pyrex.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
