# Internal Temperature for Duck Breast



## confused cook

We are preparing a seared duck breast and are wondering what the internal temperature of the duck should be? Any suggestions for cooking the duck breasts? This is for a competition and all food has to be prepared on butane burners. There are no ovens. Thanks for all suggestions!


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## suzanne

As for cooking method: you've already named it!  Score the skin, season, heat the pan, put in skin side down, cook until browned and fat has rendered, flip, cook until rare (touch is a better test here than temp). If you make a pan sauce, pour out the excess fat first -- there will be a lot of it.


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## boar_d_laze

For duck breast, 125 is rare, and 130 rides the border between rare and medium-rare. Cooking on the coasts, or for very "sophisticated" judges I'd go to a 122 and let the carry over take me to 125. Cooking anywhere else, I'd go to 130. In either case, don't forget to leave time for the breast to rest. 

I start the breasts skin side down, render the fat, turn the breast and cook until nearly done, then crank the heat to brown and crisp the skin. 

Carve with slices cut on the bias and on the diagonal. Keep the breast and intact while you transfer it to the plate (or judging box) with your knife and fork. Remove the fork entirely, then withdraw the knife by pulling it towards you, and the slices should open slightly, shingling, and exposing just the right of meat. If not, you can arrange them.

(You may also torch the skin to make sure you have the right texture -- if it's legal to bring a torch. Torch is a good thing to have, but make sure you practice a few times with yours so you know what you're doing. FWIW, I use a plumber's torch. Culinary torches are expensive and run out of fuel too fast.)

Quack,
BDL


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## cape chef

I agree with Suzanne, touch is the way to go as a probe will just let all the juices out and render your magret tough and chewy. My rule of thumb for a basic 5/6 once pekin breast is to start on medium heat with very little fat and let it slowly render the fat and let the skin crisp up. On medium heat this may take 5/6 minutes or so. You want it deep golden without any char.

Then remove most of the rendered fat, flip, turn the heat up to high and let it sauté for 3.5 minutes, rest for 6 minutes then slice into thin auquilettes.

Good luck.


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## chrislehrer

A clever technique recommended by Alfred Portale:

Score the skin and so on as usual, then put the breasts skin-side down in a COLD pan. Place over medium-high heat and cook until the skin is crisp and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Flip and cook another 5 minutes, then rest 5 minutes or so and slice. Seems to work very well in my limited experience: crisp skin, rare cooking, surprisingly consistent timing, minimal futzing around.


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## rpmcmurphy

I do what Chris does, but when I flip, its usually for a quick minute depending on the thickness of the breasts.


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## confused cook

Thanks to all of you. The information you've shared is extremely helpful. Can't wait to try your suggestions at practice today.


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## petegetty

you are a culinary instructor? that's scary


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## 808jono202

you bumped a 3 year old thread for that?


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## french fries

808JONO202 said:


> you bumped a 3 year old thread for that?


Spam bots and human spammers frequently do that on forums. That way they can come back a few months later to edit their post and add spam links to them.


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## chefbuba

Confused Cook said:


> We are preparing a seared duck breast and are wondering what the internal temperature of the duck should be? Any suggestions for cooking the duck breasts? This is for a competition and all food has to be prepared on butane burners. There are no ovens. Thanks for all suggestions!


 It is kind of a funny post, the op calls himself a culinary instructor, but came here wondering what the temp of a duck breast should be????


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## auldgrumpy

Why can't people use the MODERN exact temp control of CENTIGRADE?


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## teamfat

Fahrenheit is more finely defined. A degree centigrade covers a larger span of temperature than a degree fahrenheit.

mjb.


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## lagom

teamfat said:


> Fahrenheit is more finely defined. A degree centigrade covers a larger span of temperature than a degree fahrenheit.
> 
> Thats why we have a decimal point on our thermometers here in Europe. [emoji]128512[/emoji]
> mjb.


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## genemachine

To be more to the point, the accuracy of measurement is completely independent of the scale used. It all depends on the instrument. And who does actually recalibrate their thermometers? 1°C is probably the best accuracy an average kitchen thermometer will do, regardless of it having a nominal 0,1°C resolution. Labeling the scale in °F doesn't change anything about it.


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## then123

I would say 60 c


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## teamfat

GeneMachine said:


> To be more to the point, the accuracy of measurement is completely independent of the scale used.


You guys never let me have any fun!

mjb.


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## french fries

teamfat said:


> You guys never let me have any fun!


Where would be the fun in that?


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## lawrence

Auldgrumpy said:


> Why can't people use the MODERN exact temp control of CENTIGRADE?


What is Centigrade?? I remember my grandad saying it once but I never heard of it anywhere else.

Is it like Celsius?


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## french fries

Lawrence said:


> What is Centigrade?? (...) Is it like Celsius?


Yes.


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## teamfat

The term "centigrade" comes from centum, Latin for 100.  There are 100 degrees between the freezing point of water, 0 degrees C, and the boiling point, 100 degrees C. Actually the freezing point is pretty much stable, the boiling point of water depends on atmospheric pressure. Water boils at a lower temp here in Salt Lake at over 4,000 feet above sea level than it does in Boston or Burbank. For some reason that scale is now named Celsius after a Swedish astronomer, possibly because of work involving color graduations in stars based on temperature.

Be quiet Mark, you are rambling.

mjb.


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## foodpump

Whaddya mean "Europe"???

The only two countries left in the *world* that don't use the metric system are the U.S. and Liberia.

Well..... Nobody's really sure about N. Korea.....


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## lagom

I would have thought it would be Burma and Merica[emoji]128512[/emoji]


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## lawrence

What's a Centigrade?

is it like Celsius?


Lawrence said:


> What is Centigrade?? I remember my grandad saying it once but I never heard of it anywhere else.
> 
> Is it like Celsius?





Lawrence said:


> What is Centigrade?? I remember my grandad saying it once but I never heard of it anywhere else.
> 
> Is it like Celsius?





teamfat said:


> The term "centigrade" comes from centum, Latin for 100. There are 100 degrees between the freezing point of water, 0 degrees C, and the boiling point, 100 degrees C. Actually the freezing point is pretty much stable, the boiling point of water depends on atmospheric pressure. Water boils at a lower temp here in Salt Lake at over 4,000 feet above sea level than it does in Boston or Burbank. For some reason that scale is now named Celsius after a Swedish astronomer, possibly because of work involving color graduations in stars based on temperature.
> 
> Be quiet Mark, you are rambling.
> 
> mjb.


No ramble away..

You would have mentioned "Grad" meaning steps.

Celsius was also a physicist who invented the Celcius scale in 1742 ( hardly modern) although until 1744 it was backwards (100 being the freezing point of water) it later for some reason became known as Centigrade!

In 1948 it was officially renamed as Celsius hence my reference to what my Grandad called it.


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