Today I tried another sous-vide recipe. Unlike last week's short ribs, which I read about on the internet, this one was fully my invention. My plan was to cook a duck breast in duck fat, using the sous-vide technique. Cooking duck in its own fat is known as confit.

I started with a Canadian muscovy duck breast. I scored the skin and fat, then seasoned it with salt and pepper.


In order to cook this breast in duck fat, I obviously need the fat. I was able to buy at tub of duck fat at the excellent Brooklyn Larder.


I vacuum sealed the breast in a plastic bag with the fat.


I cooked the meat and fat for 8 hours at 133 degrees F. This slow pouched the breast in the duck fat. The result was not terribly appetizing.


I browned the outside of the breast with my butane torch to produce a nice golden brown exterior.




The result was a nice medium rare duck breast, with a crispy exterior.


I separated the liquid that came out of the duck breast from the fat, and combined it with some garlic and red wine to make a sauce. I served this with some broccoli and rice pilaf.


The verdict: delicious, BUT I'm not sure it was anything special. I think I could have prepared the duck like this on my grill in 12 minutes. I didn't need to pouch it in fat for 8 hours. Still tasty, just not very unique.