Roasted Duck Sandwiches on Ciabatta

Some people think of duck as a "fancy" dinner, but in our house, it's the basis for a number of easy weeknight meals. Nothing pretentious- we grill it, stir-fry it, pile it on tacos, and for the purpose of dinner this past Tuesday, make it into sandwiches. My daughters call it "duck steak" and gobble it up without complaint. Duck Steak is a good way to describe duck breast, because it eats like a steak. The White Pekin Duck yields a gloriously flavorful and tender red meat, but per 3 oz. portion, it has 7 grams less fat than a trimmed filet mignon and 55 less calories! Not only is duck leaner than beef, a skinless duck breast has less fat and calories than a skinless chicken breast. No joke!

I found this recipe for Roasted Garlic Duck Sandwiches in the Maple Leaf Farms "Meals to Remember" cookbook. Maple Leaf Farms is where I get all of my duck. They provide such a quality product! If you're interested in trying duck for the first time OR if you're shopping because you love duck as much as we do, I bet you can find MLF duck in a supermarket near you. If not...you can buy online. Check out their consumer website HERE. There are lots of tips and recipes on the site too!

To begin, just preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Then, score the fat on the duck breast. For an indepth tutorial on how to score a duck breast and render the fat, you can check out THIS VIDEO about how to cook a duck breast on the MLF website.

Place the duck breast in a skillet, skin side down in a skillet heated over medium heat. Cook for 8 minutes or until the skin is crisp and golden.

My skillet got a little hot, charring the skin. No biggie...I was going to discard the skin anyhow. The meat was still a-okay, when I sliced up the meat for the sandwiches.

After 8 minutes, turn the breasts and cook for another 3 minutes, then transfer the skillet to your pre-heated oven and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 155 degrees. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes.

While the duck cools you can ready the sandwich. I went with a loaf of ciabatta bread, sliced in half and then cut to size for these sandwiches. Italian bread or any type of sandwich rolls would work well here too.

Gather the remaining ingredients: mayonnaise and stone ground mustard, tomato, salad greens, and red onion.

Stir 2 tablespoons each of mayo and mustard together to spread on the bread.

Remove the skin and cut the duck into thin slices.

Arrange the duck slices on the mayo-mustard spread bread.

Top with onion,

and tomato. This Heirloom tomato (picked up at my local supermarket) was the best tomato I've eaten in months. Just look how red and juicy!

Finally, heap on some salad greens.

Spectacular! While my husband and I enjoyed the duck sandwiches, our daughters shared a plate of cut- up duck breast, grapes, and ciabatta cubes, with a side of olive oil for dipping. No leftovers on this night!

Roasted Duck Sandwiches from Maple Leaf Farms Meals to Remember cookbook and adapted by me

2- 7.5 oz. marinated boneless duck breast fillets, thawed if frozen
2 tablespoons stone-ground mustard
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (I used light)
1/2 frisee or gourmet salad greens
4 slices Italian or rustic bread (I used ciabatta)
Red onion and tomato, sliced

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Score the skin of the duck breast, taking care not to puncture the meat. Heat an ovenproof skillet over medium heat until hot. Place duck in skillet, skin side down. Cook 8 minutes or until skin is crisp and golden brown. Turn duck; continue cooking 3 minutes. Pour off drippings. Transfer skillet to pre-heated oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the internal temperature of the duck reaches 155 degrees. Transfer duck to a carving board and let stand for 10-15 minutes. Remove skin and cut duck lengthwise into thin slices.

Combine mustard and mayonnaise in a small bowl. Spread mixture over bread. Arrange slices of duck over the bread. Top with red onion and tomato slices and salad greens or frisee. Close with remaining bread. Serve immediately or wrap in foil and refrigerate until serving time. Makes 2 servings.