The most elegant 30 minute dinner! Duck breast with cherry sauce is an exquisite meal with a delightful sauce that is easy to make for a family meal or a holiday.
Magret de Canard au Cerises
This recipe is a luxurious yet simple French recipe for duck breast with cherry sauce, perfectly seared and finished with a glossy, tangy, sweet cherry reduction. Elegant enough for holidays, easy enough for weeknights. Includes expert tips, substitutions, wine pairings, and step-by-step instructions. Try these delicious duck recipes too: Duck L'Orange, Roast Duck With Crispy Skin, or Duck Rillettes for casual occasions.
💡About This Duck Breast Recipe
For this recipe to be truly authentic, you need real French 'magrets de canard', which are the breasts of ducks that have been fattened to produce foie gras, and the fresh red cherries from Roussillon in the south of France. But this recipe is a compromise, allowing for the difficulty of obtaining those specific ingredients.
Duckling à la Montmorency, as it is sometimes called, is a classic of French cuisine. You can make the sauce with both sweet and tart cherry varieties, or fresh, frozen, and canned fruit. Fresh cherries are obviously better, but canned pitted cherries are more convenient. Be sure to use canned fruit, not the thick pie filling that also comes in cans. Adjust the sugar to taste.
The key to success is getting the cooking of the duck breasts exactly as you like them. Since they come in different sizes and, sometimes, of varying quality, this takes a bit of practice and experimentation in your own kitchen. But keep notes of what you do at each stage, and vary this recipe accordingly so that you get perfect duck breasts every time.
Jump to:
- Magret de Canard au Cerises
- 💡About This Duck Breast Recipe
- ❤️ Why You'll Love This Duck Breast Recipe
- 📝 Ingredient Notes
- 🍴Kitchen Tools
- 🔄 Substitutions
- 🔢Instruction Notes
- 🥔What Side Dish To Serve
- ⭐ Expert Chef Tips
- 🤫Secrets (From My French Kitchen to Yours)
- 🍷 Wine Pairing
- ❄️Storage
- ❔FAQ
- 📖 Recipe
- 👩🏻🔬 Food Safety Notes
❤️ Why You'll Love This Duck Breast Recipe
- It has a perfect balance of crispy skin, tender meat, and silky cherry sauce.
- Serves like fine dining, but cooks like a weeknight dinner, easy and fast.
- Uses simple ingredients but tastes wonderfully French and fancy.
- The sauce alone could win awards.
- Ideal for holidays, anniversaries, or when you simply want to treat your family.
- Reheats beautifully.
📝 Ingredient Notes
- Duck breasts vary in size; try to buy them the same size to make cooking easier.
- Larger magrets from Moulard ducks will need slightly longer cooking.
- Frozen cherries work beautifully and often produce a more consistent sauce.
- Canned cherries are also a good choice, just not canned cherry pie filling.
- If using fresh cherries, more liquids will be required to make up for the lack of juice.
- Red wine: Choose something dry and fruity - nothing too oaky.
- Honey: Balances the natural tartness of cherries without making the sauce sweet.
NOTE: For adult hearty eaters, you will need one breast per person.
🍴Kitchen Tools
- Sharp knife
- Heavy skillet (cast iron preferred)
- Small saucepan
- Wooden spoon
- Tongs
- Meat thermometer (for perfect doneness)
🔄 Substitutions
- If duck is unavailable or too expensive for your budget, use chicken breasts or thighs instead.
🍷Substitutions For Red Wine In Preparing Duck Breast
(Always replace the liquid amount with something.)
- alcohol-free red wine
- red wine vinegar (½ vinegar and ½ water)
- grape juice
- cranberry juice
- pomegranate juice
- beef broth
- chicken broth
- water
Instead of Red Wine - Add a tablespoon of Kirsch to the sauce, but don't overdo it, or add 2-3 tbsps of port (but not both!)
🔢Instruction Notes
How To Cook Duck Breast
- Score the Duck Skin
• With a sharp knife, lightly score the skin in a crisscross pattern.
• Don't cut into the meat - this will dry out the meat. - Season Generously
• Let the duck sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before cooking.
• Salt both sides.
• Turn on the oven to moderately hot, 400°F/200°C/Gas 6, to let it heat up while pan cooking the breasts first. - Sear the Duck
• Place duck breasts skin side down in a cold pan - this renders the fat slowly and crisps the skin beautifully as the pan heats up.
• Cook 6-8 minutes until the skin is deep golden.
• Flip and cook 3-5 minutes more. - Oven Bake
• Place the pan with the breasts in the oven for a further 8-10 minutes, until it reaches the optimum temperature. (See recipe card.) - Rest the Duck
• Transfer to a plate and let rest 10 minutes.
• Resting = juicy duck.
Cherry Sauce For Duck
- Make the Cherry Sauce
• In a saucepan, sauté cherries, covering them completely in the spoonful of duck fat for 3 minutes.
• Add honey, orange juice, zest, red wine, thyme (if using), and 2 or 3 grinds of black pepper.
• Simmer 8-10 minutes until glossy and slightly thickened.
• Stir in butter at the end for that French restaurant finish.
How To Serve This Recipe
- Slice and Serve
• Slice duck along the score lines made earlier.
• Spoon cherry sauce generously over the top.
• Bask in the compliments!
🥔What Side Dish To Serve
- Gratin Dauphinois or Pommes Boulangères for a potato choice
- For a vegetable side, Green Beans with Onions or
- Roasted root vegetables, with the rendered duck fat.
- Glazed Carrots on the stove top.
⭐ Expert Chef Tips
- Start with a cold pan - it's the secret to perfect crispy skin.
- Don't rush the rendering; low and slow wins.
- Save leftover duck fat for pan frying or roasting potatoes and veggies.
🤫Secrets (From My French Kitchen to Yours)
- A tiny splash of Kirsch in the sauce makes the cherry flavor sing.
- Let the duck rest on a warm plate, not a cold one.
- If your sauce tastes flat, add a tiny pinch of salt - it wakes everything up
🍷 Wine Pairing
- Pinot Noir - the classic pairing
- Beaujolais - fruity and light
- Merlot - smooth and round
- Côtes du Rhône - for a slightly bolder option
❄️Storage
In the Fridge
- Store sliced duck and sauce separately if possible, but it will be fine together if stored in an air-tight container.
- Keeps well for 3 days.
- Reheat gently in a skillet or low oven.
In the Freezer
- Duck freezes beautifully for up to 2 months wrapped well.
- Freeze sauce separately for 3 months in air-tight container.
- Thaw overnight in the fridge.
❔FAQ
How do I know when the duck breast is done?
Use a thermometer: Medium‑rare: 130-135°F and Medium: 140°F Duck is best served pink for tenderness. (Salmonella is not a concern with duck as it is with chicken.)
Can I make the cherry sauce ahead of time?
Yes, make it up to 2 days ahead and reheat gently.
Can I use frozen duck breasts?
Absolutely! Thaw overnight in the fridge and pat dry before cooking.
📖 Recipe
Duck Breast With Cherry Sauce
The most elegant 30 minute dinner! Duck breast with cherry sauce is an exquisite meal with a delightful sauce that is easy to make for a family meal or a holiday.
Equipment
- Sharp knife
- Heavy skillet (cast iron preferred)
- Small saucepan
- Wooden spoon
- Tongs
- Meat thermometer
Ingredients
- 4 duck breasts
- sea salt
- 400 gr red tart cherries or canned equivalent; halved or left whole (or some of each)
- 1-2 teaspoons honey
- 5 tablespoons orange juice plus 4 slivers of zest
- 200 ml red wine or, if you used canned cherries, then you can substitute the syrup
- sprig of thyme optional
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon corn flour (not cornstarch) or arrowroot
- 1 teaspoon butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to moderately hot, 400°F/200°C/Gas 6.
- Take the meat out of the refrigerator 15 minutes before cooking to allow it to come up to room temperature.
- Score the fat of the duck breasts at 1.5cm intervals, cutting completely through to the meat, but no further. Salt generously with sea salt, and gently rub in.
- Place the duck breasts, fat side down, in a cold pan - it must be cold - and place over a medium heat.
- Gradually, as the pans warms up, the duck breasts will release fat. Once about a tablespoon has been released, spoon this out into a saucepan. As more fat is released, spoon this into a bowl and set aside to be used on some future occasions for roasting potatoes, for example. [Don't throw it away; in fact, if you trimmed duck fat from the breasts in the first place, you can render these down in a pan and reserve for later use.]
- Cook the duck breasts until the skin takes on a golden colour and starts to crisp, but don't go poking the duck around too much; just lift it gently with tongues to check on how it's cooking. This should take about 8-10 minutes.
- While keeping an eye on the duck breasts prepare the cherries. If using fresh cherries, stem and rinse them under cold running water, then drain. Pit the cherries with a cherry stoner. If using canned cherries, drain, rinse, and drain again. Set the cherries aside.
- When the duck breasts have a nice color, flip them over, still on a medium heat, and cook for a further 2-3 minutes or so, and then place them and the pan into the oven to cook for a further 5-10 minutes, depending on how well cooked you like your duck breasts. [The first time you prepare this dish, you might want to check on the duck breasts as they cook by slicing into one of them to see how they are doing. Then adjust the cooking time to your own taste.]
- Once the duck breasts are done, remove them from the pan and place them in a warm dish and cover with foil or a tea towel to rest.
- Now set the pan with the duck fat over a gentle heat and add the cherries, turning them to coat them in the fat.
- Cook for 3 minutes or so, and then add the honey, orange juice, zest, red wine, thyme (if using) and 2 or 3 grinds of black pepper.
- Bring to the boil, and then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the cornflour mixed with a small amount of water at this stage, to thicken the cherry sauce and the butter will give it a little gloss.
- Slice the duck breasts along the scored lines you made earlier, and arrange on plates. Spoon over the cherry sauce, having removed the thyme, ensuring that each plate has some of the orange zest.
Notes
Sides:
- Serve with Gratin Dauphinois or Pommes Boulangères
- Green Beans with Onions
- Roasted root vegetables
Substitutions:
- If using fresh cherries with no cherry juice, add a tablespoon of kirsch to the sauce, but don't overdo it, or add 2-3 tablespoons of port (but not both!)
- Use arrowroot flour instead of corn flour.
Tips
- Save the precious, tasty duck fat for future use, such as roasting potatoes or other root vegetables.
- Let the duck sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before cooking. (This is a good practice for all meat before it hits the heat. It allows the meat to cook more evenly and creates a better brown on the surface if the meat is not cold when it hits the pan.)
Nutrition
Calories: 403kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 46gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 174mgSodium: 131mgPotassium: 939mgFiber: 2gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 227IUVitamin C: 32mgCalcium: 28mgIron: 11mg
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👩🏻🔬 Food Safety Notes
- Always thaw duck in the refrigerator, never on the counter.
- Cook to a safe internal temperature, minimum 130°F for medium‑rare.
- Store leftovers promptly within 2 hours.
- Reheat to steaming hot before serving.
Judith says
I have been updating all my recipes and have just given this beautiful dish the lift it deserved and needed. I hope everyone tries it, as it is one of those recipes people might shy away from, thinking it is too difficult. But nothing could be further from the truth. Please try it, you will love it! 🫠🤌🏻💗
Ann says
No where could I find oven degrees for step where you put breasts in oven for final cooking
Judith Coates says
Ann, my apologies! I have updated the recipe as it needs to be. It is a delicious recipe surprisingly easy and quick for such elegance. I hope you love it!