Easy Duck Breast with Orange Sauce: Simple Duck a L'Orange Recipe (2024)

This duck with orange sauce (duck a l'orange) is a classic French recipe of pan-seared duck breasts and orange sauce! Juicy duck breasts are scored on their fatty side, seared to perfection, then oven-finished until they reach the perfect medium-rare temperature. You'll be amazed by this homemade restaurant-quality duck recipe!

Easy Orange Sauce For Duck

When I get bored with typical chicken and pork dishes, I love mixing up my dinners with some fantastic game meat recipes! One of my favorite duck recipes lately is this easy-to-make duck with orange sauce.

The orange sauce itself is simple to prepare yet absolutely delicious. When paired with tender and flavorful duck breasts, it's a winning flavor combination!

🥘 Ingredients

Duck

• Duck - 12 ounces of duck breast halves.
• Salt - ½ teaspoon of salt, to taste.

Orange Sauce

• Duck Fat - Reserve ¼ cup of duck fat from pan-searing the duck breasts.
• Orange Juice - The juice from 5 large oranges, which is about 1¼ cups.
• Garlic - 4 cloves of slightly crushed garlic.
• Rosemary - 10 sprigs of fresh rosemary, or you can try a rosemary substitute.
• Honey - ½ cup of honey.

*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*

🔪 Instructions

Even if you've never prepared duck before, this recipe is completely beginner-friendly! All you will need is a sharp knife, your measuring utensils, a large skillet, and a baking dish.

This recipe will make enough duck with orange sauce for 2 servings, but it is very easy to scale up for more people!

Prepare the Duck

Step 1: Rinse the duck. Rinse 12 ounces (340 grams) of duck breast halvesunder cool water and then pat them dry with paper towels.

Step 2: Score. Place the skin side up and use a very sharp knife to score the skin in a diamond crosshatch pattern. You'll want to avoid cutting so deep that you slice the meat.

Step 3: Season. Generously season all sides of the duck with½ teaspoon (3 grams) of salt (to taste). Then, place the duck breasts into a cold, large skillet and place it over low heat.

Step 4: Sear. Let the duck cook over low heat for 3 minutes before increasing the heat to medium. Once the duck begins to sizzle, leave it to cook with the fat side down for 6-8 minutes.

Step 5: Drain. Drain the duck fat, making sure to reserve ¼ cup of it. Transfer the duck to an oven-safe baking dish.

Prepare the Orange Sauce

Step 6: Add. Using the same skillet over medium heat, add¼ cup (59 milliliters) of reserved duck fat,1¼ cups (296 milliliters) of orange juice,4 cloves (12 grams) of garlic,10 sprigs (1 gram) of fresh rosemary, and½ cup (118 milliliters) of honey.

Step 7: Simmer. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until it has reduced by half and thickened, about 5-10 minutes.

Step 8: Remove. Turn off the heat and remove the garlic cloves and rosemary sprigs.

Bake, Rest, and Serve

Step 9: Preheat. Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C/Gas Mark 6).

Step 10: Baste. Baste both sides of the duck breast with the orange sauce and have it skin side up in the baking dish, setting the remaining sauce aside.

Step 11: Bake. Bake for 4-6 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 130°F(54°C).

Step 12: Rest. Remove the duck from the oven and loosely cover it with aluminum foil. Allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes while you warm up your remaining orange sauce.

Step 13: Serve. Slice the duck and top it with your prepared orange sauce. Serve immediately.

Serve with any of my duck sides you can find here!

💭 Tips & Notes

• Scoring the duck's skin helps to properly render the fat and make the skin ultra crispy.
• To properly score the skin, you'll want to slice it without cutting so deep that you are scoring the meat.
• Use fresh orange juice (from about 5 oranges) for the best flavor.

>>>>See all of my recipes here<<<<

🥡 Storing & Reheating

Let your duck cool completely before storing it. Once cool, you can store any leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Freezing

Additionally, you can freeze your duck a l'orange. Let it cool, and then place it into an airtight bag or container. Then, freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge when ready.

Reheating

Reheat your duck in the oven at 300°F (150°C/Gas Mark 2) for 5-15 minutes, depending on how much you are reheating. The sauce can be reheated in a saucepan over medium heat.

📖 Recipe Card