Magret du Canard with Sautéed Apples

A couple of weeks ago Eric Ripert did an Instagram post of a seared duck breast with caramelized onions and sautéed pears and apples.  I didn’t have everything, but I did have enough ingredients that I thought I could come pretty close.  And he made it look so easy!

I had some caramelized onions in the freezer so I just used those, and I didn’t have pears, so only used apples.

I scored my duck breast (not quite as sharply and cleanly as Ripert’s!)

I also melted a bunch of butter (2 tablespoons? 3?) over medium heat and started cooking the apples.  They were pretty large wedges of apples.  I used Granny Smiths.

Patience is the key for rendering the fat and crisping the skin on the duck breast.  I probably could (and should) have let this go a little longer and rendered more fat, but it still was tasty.

I was more patient with the apples and they got nicely browned with crispy edges from the butter.

I didn’t take pictures, but while the duck rested I deglazed the pan with whiskey, then heated the onions in it, cooking off the alcohol.  I probably could have had a slightly prettier presentation, but it tasted great!