Magret (Duck Breast) with Red Wine and Shallots

Original recipe by: Leslie Brenner

Perfectly cooked medium-rare magret — duck breast — is a delight: rosy, juicy, tender, super-flavorful, and extremely French. I like to keep it simple, bathing it in a simple pan sauce made by sweating shallots in the pan while the magret rests, then deglazing it with red wine. It’s a dish that has confounded many a good cook, as it’s easy to overcook. The trick is cooking it long enough so that much of the thick layer of fat under the skin renders, but not so long that it’s overcooked: It’s best eaten medium-rare, or just a shade past. If you take it slow and cook it low, you can get a gorgeous crisp skin and perfect deep pink juicy flesh every time. Be sure to let it rest the full 10 minutes, and it’ll be marvelously tender.

Serve it with haricots verts and (if you’re feeling expansive) roasted potatoes, a gratin dauphinois or potatoes sautéed in duck fat.

Be sure to save the duck fat y…