Crispy Duck Breast

My wife and I had a few minutes without the kids and decided to check out Charlottesville's Organic Butcher,  We were mainly interested in what kind of game meats were available.  The prices were comparable to other gourmet meats in the area and with the other specialty shops in the West Main Market this is a perfect destination prior to preparing a special meal.  As far as I can remember I have never had duck but have heard how wonderful it can be.  I saw some very good looking duck breasts in the cooler and snatched them up.  I had no idea how to cook these but wanted something simple so that I could fully savor the meat.  I found a recipe at theawl.com   This page very thoroughly explains how to handle duck.  I slightly modify the recipe times and ended up with a perfect medium rare.

My daughter and I are the adventurous ones and according to my daughter the duck was "deeee-licious".  The other half of the family was a little less enthusiastic.  This dish will have to be a special treat for Dad daughter diners.

• PREP5 mins
• COOK20 mins
• READY IN25 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 Duck breasts
• Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
2. Separate the two duck breasts
3. Season both sides with fresh ground salt and pepper
4. Slice the skin on each breast in a diagonal pattern creating diamonds shapes
5. Place the duck skin down in an oven safe room temperature frying pan
6. Slowly increase the heat to medium high
7. Periodically pour the rendered fat off and reserve (We used a smaller pot lid to hold the breasts while pouring of the fat.  Careful, the fat is a lot like bacon grease and is very hot!
8. When the skin is a crispy brown, after about 7-8 min turn the breasts and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
9. Turn the breasts back skin side down and place in the oven for approximately 10 minutes.
10. Remove and serve with your favorite paleo sides, this time we chose garlic mashed cauliflower and zesty sweet potato chips.