This looks amazing, Amy! Thanks for the wonderful cooking tips about duck too. I think I have the heat too high, which explains why not enough fat renders before the breast cooks. Good to know!

It’s very different, but this talk of pan temps reminds me of Cook’s Illustrated’s trick for cooking pork chops: start them in a cold pan, not a hot one.

You can still put them in a searing hot pan, just turn down the heat very very low and let them ride low and slow until rendered.

I’m really picky about fat being rendered and I find many restaurants don’t do this adequately which often ruins the dining experience for me, but you know, I’m weird like that.

I’m going to have to try the hot pan method because I’ve always started in a cold pan and then brought up the temperature to medium/low to carefully render the fat. The duck breasts I get here are magrets from the production of foie gras so there’s a fairly thick fat layer to get through.