Sous Vide Duck Breast with Braised Leeks & Mashed Potatoes

Juicy sous vide duck breast served with fluffy garlic mashed potatoes and braised leeks simmered in a white wine sauce. This date-night dinner is on point!

Author

Sharon Chen

As the creator of StreetSmartKitchen.com, Sharon Chen is deeply versed in content creation and content marketing, specifically in the food industry. Born and raised in Shanghai, China, Sharon is heavily influenced by her mother’s home cooking. Even though she was not allowed to step into the kitchen when her mother was cooking, she grew up watching it. It was not until Sharon moved away from her hometown to the States with her husband that she realized how important cooking and eating at home are in order to have a vibrant and healthy family life. Three months after moving to the States in 2013, Sharon started her food blog, StreetSmartKitchen.com, to document her recipes and learnings. It started off with simple Chinese recipes passed on by her mother. Then her cooking gradually extended to different cuisines, such as American, Mexican, Italian, French, Thai, Vietnamese, etc. Sharon and her husband are globetrotters, having lived in Shanghai, China, San Francisco, CA, Jacksonville FL, and Austin, TX. They are currently based in Hong Kong with their newborn baby boy. Sharon started cooking sous vide when she moved to Hong Kong in 2018 due to her tiny kitchen without an oven. When she discovered that Anova is the only company that makes sous vide machines to suit the electric sockets and voltage in Hong Kong, she considered it a lifesaver. She has been using her Anova Precision Cooker almost on a daily basis ever since. You can find her sous vide recipes here: https://www.streetsmartkitchen.com/category/sous-vide/

Prep Time: 00:00

Recipe Time: 01:30

Temperature : 144F / 62.2C

Ingredients

• For the sous vide duck breasts: 2 boneless duck breasts, skin on
• 4–5 fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 large cloves garlic
• Salt as needed
• Ground black pepper as needed
• For the mashed potatoes: 1 pound Yukon potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• For the braised leeks: 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• Sea salt
• 4 large leeks, white and light green parts only, root ends trimmed, halved lengthwise and rinsed thoroughly
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup reserved duck juice
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, minced
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Set your Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker to 144ºF / 62.2ºC
2. Rinse duck breasts and pat dry with paper towels. Place on a cutting board, skin side up. Use a sharp knife, score the skin with even strokes. Don’t cut through the meat.
3. Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat and pre-sear the skin side for 2-3 minutes. No need to add any oil. The duck breasts will produce enough fat.
4. Add thyme and garlic into the skillet, flip the breasts, sear the meat side for another minute. Let the fresh thyme and garlic toast in the duck fat at the same time.
5. Once the duck is pre-seared, turn off the heat and transfer the duck breasts to the cutting board. Season generously with salt and ground black pepper.
6. Place the prepared duck breasts into a sous vide bag, toss the thyme and garlic into the bag. Vacuum seal it using a vacuum sealer or a hand pump and lower the bag into the water bath. Set timer for 1.5 hours.
7. In the meantime, make mashed potatoes. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes; drain.
8. In a small saucepan, heat butter and milk over low heat until butter is melted. Slowly add milk mixture into potatoes and mash until smooth and creamy. Season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste. Set aside.
9. In the same skillet that you used to sear the duck breasts, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt evenly over the bottom of the skillet.

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1. When sous vide cooking is done, remove the cooked duck breasts from the bag and reserve the duck juice.
2. Sear the skin side in the same skillet over high heat until the duck skin is golden brown. Transfer to a clean cutting board.
3. Still using the same skillet (no need to wash), gently place leeks into the skillet in a single layer, cut side down. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, shaking the skillet occasionally until the cut side of the leeks is golden brown. If your leeks brown too quickly, adjust the heat.
4. Now, add wine, reserved duck juice, and fresh thyme. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the leeks are tender and translucent, about 10 minutes.
5. Gently transfer the leeks to two serving plates evenly, leaving the liquid in the skillet. Cover the leeks with foil and set aside.
6. Return the liquid to a simmer over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter and lemon juice in the skillet. Once the butter is melted, stir and season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. To serve, slice the duck breasts along the scores in the skin and place on the serving plates with the leeks. Scoop some mashed potatoes to put on the side. Pour the leek cooking liquid over and enjoy!