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Learn how to make Duck Breasts with Orange Sauce - probably the best duck recipe you will find! With the most delicious tart & sweet orange sauce, this is a dish you'll be making over and over again.
Afraid to cook duck? Don't be! This Duck with Orange Sauce is one of the easiest "fancy" dishes you can make - and perfect to prep ahead.
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I'm a lazy cook and I love my simple comfort foods - there's honestly not much fancy cooking going on in my kitchen. For dinner parties I always go one of two ways: a risotto, or this duck with orange sauce.
Why? They're both super easy to make - and never fail to impress.
Why you will love this recipe
- It's easy - there are a few steps involved in making duck with orange sauce, but they're simple and I go through them in detail below
- It's delicious and the sweet & tart orange sauce is the best sauce to serve with duck
- A rich sauce you will want to eat by the spoonful
- Sure to impress your guests,which I bet you don't mind
- Perfect to prep ahead so you can mingle with your guests, and still serve a great meal
- Easy to make for a crowd - just change the number of servings in the recipe card below and sear in batches if needed
What you need to make it
Ingredient notes & substitutions
- Duck breasts - make sure they're boneless and the skin-on kind
- Whole duck: You can also make this recipe using a whole duck. Season the duck inside and out with salt and pepper, then stuff the cavity with orange wedges, fresh rosemary and garlic cloves. Roast duck in the oven at 350°F (175°C) for 1.5 hours, until internal temperature * reaches 165°F (74°C). Then make the sauce as suggested below using the drippings.
- Oranges - we're just using the juice, so in a pinch you can sub in store bought orange juice. Or use another sweet citrus - like clementines.
- Liquid honey - regular honey works as well
- Rosemary can be swapped for thyme
- Orange zest can be added to the sauce if you want more of orange taste and a touch of bitterness
How to make Duck with Orange Sauce
Making Duck with Orange Sauce has 5 main steps, and I will go through them all in detail below:
- Prep the duck breasts
- Render off the fat
- Make the orange sauce
- Finish the duck breasts in the oven
- Let them rest
If you want to prep this dish ahead of time complete step 1-3 above to prep, and then 20 minutes before dinner follow with step 4-5. Then heat up the orange sauce just before serving.
- Start by bringing out your duck breasts and patting them dry
- Make sure to dry them on both sides
- Then score skin in a crosshatch pattern. Do this by cutting all the way through the skin and fat, without cutting into the duck meat. This is easiest done with a really sharp knife - with just light pressure the sharp knife will glide easily through the skin and fat, but meet resistance when it reaches the meat.
- This is what the skin should look like - see how the cut is straight through the skin, but hasn't touched the meat
- Season the skin-side with salt & pepper
- Flip and season on the other side
- Place breasts with the fat side side down in a cold frying pan or skillet * without any butter or oil. Then place it over medium heat. Now render off the fat until there's not so much fat coming out from the skin anymore, and the skin is crisp and golden brown. There will be a lot of fat - so you will need to pour it off a few times while rendering. Pour it into a bowl and set aside for now.
- When you're done rendering off the fat, turn duck breasts with the meat side down and sear for about a minute. Then sear quickly on all other sides as well, before moving the duck breasts from the pan to an oven-safe dish.
- To start the sauce, place the same pan back over the heat and add back some of the rendered duck fat in the bottom of the pan
- Pour in the orange juice
- Add garlic cloves and sprigs of rosemary
- Pour in the honey
- Mix
- Bring to a simmer and simmer 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally
- The sauce should reduce by half, and get a bit sticky - then it's done
- Turn off the heat and remove the garlic cloves and sprigs of rosemary
- Glaze the duck breasts with a bit of the orange sauce on all sides and then place duck breasts skin side up in a roasting pan. Insert a thermometer halfway into one of the breasts.
- Roast in the middle of the oven for 5-10 minutes at 350°F (175°C), until the internal temperature * has reached your set point. it should be 149°F (65°C) for well done, 137°F (58°C) for medium-rare and 128°F (53°C) for rare.
- Wrap each duck breast in foil and let it rest for at least 5 minutes
- Place on a cutting board and slice. Serve on a serving platter, with orange sauce in a gravy boat on the side, or on plates topped with the sliced duck breast topped with orange sauce.
Tips & tricks
- Use a really sharp knife to score the skin
- Render off the fat - it really is worth the time
- Always start with a cold pan when rendering off the fat
- Don't pour the fat straight down the drain as this might clog it - instead, pour it into a bowl to cool and either use to cook other things in (duck fat potatos are delicious), or:
- Place it in the fridge to cool and solidify, then throw in the trash
- Soak up with paper towels and throw them in the trash
- Know your temperature point - do you like it rare, medium or well-done? In the recipe card below you can see which temperature you should aim for depending on your preference.
- Use an oven thermometer * to get your duck to just the right temperature
- Always take your duck out at a few degrees below the target temperature * - in the recipe card below you will find suggestions for at what temperature to bring it from the oven as well
- Store leftover in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days - great cold or heated, as well as added to pastas, salads and thai curries
- Freeze leftovers to keep them for up to 3 months
Recipe FAQ
Duck goes great with orange and other citrus flavors as well as earthy flavors like cabbage, beets, pumpkin and potatoes.
To prepare duck breasts in advance, score the skin, season them, render off the fat and sear them ahead of time. Then place covered in an oven-safe dish (in room temperature if just for a few hours, otherwise in the fridge).
20 minutes before you want to eat, place the duck in a preheated oven with an oven thermometer and cook to your set point - and don't forget to let the duck breasts rest at least 5 minutes.
For this specific recipe, I recommend making the orange sauce in advance as well, and heating it up just before serving.
The best way to ensure your duck breasts are perfectly cooked is to allow them to rest. While resting, the temperature will rise just a few degrees which makes it less likely to overcook them.
So you basically take them out when they're not really done, and let them finish cooking in foil. The temperature won't rise more than 2-5 degrees even if you let them rest for longer.
Resting duck - like any type of meat - also allows for the juices to settle back in, which gives you a juicier meat.
Simple side dishes to serve with Duck in Orange Sauce
I love potatoes with duck in orange sauce. Especially crispy, cheesy smashed potatoes or roast potatoes, mashed potatoes or potato wedges, but it's also delicious with a Hasselback Potato or Homemade Tater Tots. For a veggie, why not go for garlic roasted broccoli, classic steamed or boiled haricot verts or an earthy Roasted Beetroot Salad with Feta Cheese.
To make it easy for you I put together a whole post all about what to serve with duck. Check out the best side dishes for duck!
More easy dinner party recipes
Looking for more easy recipes to serve at your next dinner party?
- Creamy Risotto with Shrimp & Asparagus
- Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Garlic & Parmesan
- Rum-spiked Smoked Salmon Tartare
- Salmon Risotto with Leeks & Lemon
- Mushroom Risotto with Truffle Oil
- Creamy Red Wine Chicken Pasta
Did you love this recipe? Rate it five stars!
...and let me know what you loved about it in the comments.
Recipe
Duck in Orange Sauce
Print RateIngredients
- 2 large duck breasts with skin
- ½ teaspoon fine table salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ cup duck fat
- 5 oranges juice only
- 4 garlic cloves peeled and slightly crushed, but in one piece
- 10 sprigs of rosemary
- ½ cup honey
To serve
- sea salt flakes optional
Instructions
Prep & stovetop cooking (20 minutes)
- Bring out the duck breasts and pat them dry. Turn them skin-side up and carefully cut a criss-cross pattern in the skin. Take care not to cut into the duck meat, but still cut as deep into the skin as you can. Season with salt and black pepper on both sides.2 large duck breasts with skin, ½ teaspoon fine table salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Place the duck breasts skin-side down in a cold pan without any oil or butter, then place the pan over medium heat. Allow the fat to render off until skin is crisp and golden and the fat has stopped seeping out of the duck skin. This takes 10-15 minutes. Pour off excess fat regularly while cooking and save for later.
- Raise the heat to medium-high, flip the breasts over and sear skin-side up for 1 minute. Then sear quickly on the other sides of the duck breast and transfer them to an oven safe dish.
Orange Sauce (10 minutes)
- Place the pan back over the heat and pour in some of the duck fat you rendered off. Add the orange juice, honey, sprigs of rosemary and garlic cloves. Bring to a simmer and let simmer until a bit sticky and reduced by half, this takes 5-10 minutes. Stir occasionally.¼ cup duck fat, 5 oranges, 10 sprigs of rosemary, ½ cup honey, 4 garlic cloves
- Turn off the heat and remove the garlic cloves and sprigs of rosemary, then set aside for now.
Finishing the duck breasts in the oven (5-10 minutes if starting with a hot oven)
- Heat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Glaze the duck breasts with the orange sauce on both sides, then place skin-side up and stick in a meat thermometer. Place uncovered in the middle of the oven and cook for 5-10 minutes until inner temperature is 137°F (58°C) (for a pink center, see notes below for other temperatures).
- Wrap the cooked duck breasts in aluminum foil and let rest for at least 5 minutes. Meanwhile, heat up the orange sauce.
- Slice the duck breasts and serve topped with orange sauce and sea salt flakes.sea salt flakes
Equipment needed for this recipe
Video
Notes
Suggested cooking temperatures:
- Rare: Cook to 53 C/128 F and let rest to reach 56 C/133 F
- Medium: Cook to 58 C/137 F and let rest to reach 62 C/144 F
- Well-done: Cook to 65 C/149 F and let rest to reach 70 C/158 F
Ingredient notes & substitutions
- Duck breasts - make sure they're boneless and the skin-on kind
- Oranges - we're just using the juice, so in a pinch you can sub in store bought orange juice. Or use another sweet citrus - like clementines.
- Liquid honey - regular honey works as well
- Rosemary can be swapped for thyme
- Orange zest can be added to the sauce if you want more of orange taste and a touch of bitterness
Tips & tricks
- Use a really sharp knife to score the skin
- Render off the fat - it really is worth the time
- Always start with a cold pan when rendering off the fat
- Don't pour the fat straight down the drain as this might clog it - instead, pour it into a bowl to cool and either use to cook other things in (duck fat potatos are delicious), or:
- Place it in the fridge to cool and solidify, then throw in the trash
- Soak up with paper towels and throw them in the trash
- Know your temperature point - do you like it rare, medium or well-done? In the recipe card below you can see which temperature you should aim for depending on your preference.
- Use an oven thermometer to get your duck to just the right temperature
- Always take your duck out at a few degrees below the target temperature - in the recipe card below you will find suggestions for at what temperature to bring it from the oven as well
- Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days - great cold or heated, as well as added to pastas, salads and thai curries
- Freeze leftovers to keep them for up to 3 months
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate and automatically calculated, and should only be viewed as an indication.
Mark
How would you add saffron to this recipe?
Emmeline Kemperyd
Hi mark! It does sound delicious to add saffron! I would add the saffron to the sauce together with all the other ingredients, and let it simmer. I might skip the rosemary to let the saffron shine instead. Hope that helps, and let me know how it turns out! /Emmeline
Rosalia Q. Figueroa
I tried this recipe, and it was really good, but I have questions I want to ask; how can I reach you?
Emmeline Kemperyd
Hi Rosalia, you can always ask your questions in a comment - this makes it easy for other readers to also find the answers. Otherwise you can e-mail me at emmeline@alwaysusebuter.com. /Emmeline
Sandy Whetton
Really excellent - I cooked the duck breasts for only 15minutes at 180 degrees ( fan) The sauce is first class I added star anise and whisked in some butter right at the end, Fantastic - thank you
Emmeline Kemperyd
Hi Sandy! Happy to hear you enjoyed it! /Emmeline
Emmeline Kemperyd
Hi Sandy! Happy to hear you enjoyed it! /Emmeline
Carolyn Ricci
This sounds delicious and I can't wait to make it for Christmas this year, though I do have a question. The recipe says "5 oranges". I realize it's juice only, but is there any kind of measurement for this ingredient? Roughly how many cups of orange juice should I use? Thanks!
Emmeline Kemperyd
Hi Carolyn! So excited for you to try it! I think it ends up at around 1.5 cups, maybe a little less. Will make sure to measure it next time I make this! /Emmeline
Carolyn Ricci
Thank you!
Sophie Hughes
This is such a great recipe, the duck was perfectly cooked, with crispy skin, and the sauce was to die for. Surprisingly easy to make as well.
Emmeline Kemperyd
Hi Sophie! Thank you so much for your comment and 5 star rating. Happy to hear you enjoyed it and found it pretty easy to make! It's my go-to dinner party recipe for a reason 😉
Dannii
My husband loves duck, but I never think to make it at home. I am going to have to try this.
Emmeline Kemperyd
I hope you do! Let me know how it turns out!
Shelley
So gorgeous - absolutely company-worthy! Love that it can be prepped ahead to make things so easy and stress-free for entertaining! Thanks for the great tips, too - especially about taking the duck out a few degrees early and then letting it rest - so it turns out perfect in the end!
Emmeline Kemperyd
Thank you Shelley!
Sue
I love duck, and your recipe looks so easy and delicious! Going to give it a try!
Emmeline Kemperyd
Thank you Sue! Let me know how it turns out!
Mary Davis
My first attempt at Duck. OMG! This recipe is a winner! My husband said, "this is effing delicious" Thank you!!!!
Emmeline Kemperyd
Oh Mary! Thanks for your comment! So happy to hear it turned out well!
Michael Smith
Wow!
Duck is always hard to cook correctly and when a guest won't do so because it is so...
This recipe works so well especially with the temperature hint. My guest loved it! As did everyone else.
It just works! Thank you
Emmeline Kemperyd
Hi Michael! So happy to hear it turned out well for you. Have a great Sunday! /Emmeline
Jacqueline Meldrum
That orange sauce sounds wonderful. I would not have thought to mix orange with rosemary.
Emmeline Kemperyd
Thank you Jacqueline! It's a good mix but yes maybe a bit unusual??
Gina
Love how you break the recipe down into such easy steps, makes something that sounds complicated seem approachable and doable at home. Love duck and can't wait to make this now!
Emmeline Kemperyd
Thank you Gina, happy to help!
April
My mouth is watering just from reading your post. I can't imagine what would happen if I had this in front of me on the table! Actually, I don't have to imagine - I can just make it happen now! 🙂
Emmeline
I love it! Thanks for commenting and let me know if you try it out!
Cheese Curd In Paradise
These turned out absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to try this recipe as we love duck in or house.Perfect for the holidays!
Emmeline
Thank you! Let me know if you try it!
Catalina
Duck a l'orange is such a fancy dinner! But I love that it's so easy that anyone can make it! So perfect for a romantic dinner!
Emmeline
Right?! Nothing better than a fancy yet easy dinner!
Marisa Franca
We really like duck but we've never made it at home. This recipe certainly makes it seem easy to do. This is definitely on my bucket list to make. And thank you for the wine suggestions. We do like our wine with our meal. This will make a special meal.
Emmeline
Let me know if you try it!
Sam
Wow! Sounds delicious! Going to give this a try. what is 4 dl orange juice? How much orange juice is that?
Thanks Sam
Emmeline Kemperyd
Hi Sam! Thanks for commenting. Truly one of my favorite recipes so I'm happy you want to try it! 4 dl of orange juice is the same as 400 ml or about 1.75 cups, for me it corresponde to the juice from 4 arge oranges but that of course depends on how juicy your oranges are 🙂 You can change measuring system from metric to US customary in the recipe card if you wish to see that instead! /Emmeline
Danielle Wolter
This looks incredible! Duck is one of my all time favorite meats, and this looks like its cooked beautifully. And who doesn't love a good duck with orange sauce (I just made one myself 🙂
Emmeline
Oh yes I saw your duck with orange sauce it looked sooo amazing. The whole duck is on my list to make - just gotta find a whole duck somewhere. 😉
Mahy Elamin
I’ve actually made the original Julia Childs duck a l’orange recipe which, like most authentic French cuisine, is complex and very time-consuming. This recipe is so much simpler, I decided to give it a whirl and was delighted with the results. The sauce tasted great and the finished dish looked professional. Excellent recipe.
Emmeline
Wow, that's awesome! Never tried to make the original but seems like a lot of work... Happy you enjoyed this version!
Claudia Lamascolo
I have heard duck is wonderful but never had it before. I wouldnt even know how to prepare it until now. This is awesome thank you
Emmeline
Happy you liked it! 😀
Edyta at Eating European
This duck looks absolutely fantastic. I love your step by step tutorials. It's very helpful 🙂
Emmeline
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoy them 😀
Jill
Very informative post - especially since I have never tried duck! It looks fairly easy to fix at home - great process photos!
Emmeline
Thank you! So happy you liked it! 😀 It really is quite easy to make if you just know how to do it 😉
Elaine Benoit
I adore duck but I usually get the whole bird! Now, I need to go out and get some duck breast meat so I can make this! It looks so delicious and I love the sauce.
Emmeline
You sure do! Thanks for checking it out and commenting!
tayler
I love that this recipe has a simple ingredient list yet packs a ton of flavor.
Emmeline
Right?! Nothing like a simple but flavorful dish!
rebecca
thanks for showing how to render off the fat! you make it look so simple & delicious
Emmeline
It really is quite simple if you just know how to do it 😉
Suzy
Wow! I love duck, but have only eaten it at restaurants. Thanks for the recipe.
Emmeline
You are very welcome! 😀