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Canard à la Presse (Pressed Duck)
4.9 from 216 votes

Canard à la Presse (Pressed Duck)

Canard à la Presse, or Pressed Duck, is a classic French dish featuring duck breasts seared to develop color and rested multiple times to reabsorb juices. The carcass and organs are pressed to extract rich blood and juices, which are then used to create a deeply flavorful sauce combined with butter, shallots, tonka beans, orange juice, cognac, and prepared duck sauce. This preparation results in tender, juicy duck with an intensely savory and aromatic sauce.

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
35 mins
Additional Time
19 mins
Total Time
1 hr 4 mins
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: French

Ingredients

  • 4 duck breasts
  • 2 shallot
  • 50 g duck heart
  • 4 pieces tonka beans
  • 50 g butter
  • 1 orange
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • cognac a dash
  • 300 g duck sauce

Instructions

How to Prepare the Duck
    Cup of Yum
  1. Roast the duck for 10 minutes at 130 degrees Celsius (270 degrees Fahrenheit).
  2. Rest for 12 minutes. Let the duck rest so the juices reabsorb.
  3. Cook for another 8 minutes, and then rest for a further 7 minutes. so that it absorbs all the juices.
  4. The duck is seared on the outside while still relatively raw on the inside.
  5. The bones are separated from the meat. The breasts and thighs are brought back to the kitchen to be prepared there. The carcass and the organs will be put in the press (see below).
How to Prepare the Pressed Duck Sauce
  1. How to Prepare the Pressed Duck Sauce
  2. Begin by cooking the shallots in butter for around 3 minutes.
  3. Add the Tonka beans for 2-3 minutes (these are just for infusing).
  4. Add the orange juice.
  5. Add the duck sauce.
  6. Put the carcass and organs in the duck press to extract the blood.
  7. Add the blood to the sauce and cook very slowly, adding salt and cognac. The extracted blood and juices add incredible richness to the sauce.
  8. Then serve over the duck breast meat.

Notes