Breaking down a duck

The breaking down of a whole duck belongs to the French butcher's and cook's craft, in which a single bird is divided so that each part meets the cooking it suits. Jacques Pépin sets the sequence out in Complete Techniques as part of the classical repertoire, and it is carried by the professional kitchen and the charcuterie of the south-west, where duck is reared for the foie gras and the confit. The method rests on the anatomy of the bird, not on any one recipe, and it is taught as a basic discipline of the poultry cook.

The bird is most often the domestic duck descended from the mallard, Anas platyrhynchos, in France commonly the Mulard, a cross of the Muscovy, Cairina moschata, and the Pekin. It is divided into two breasts, the magrets when the bird has been fattened for foie gras, two legs with the thighs, the wings, the carcass and the neck, together with the skin, the fat and the liver where present. The legs are separated at the hip joint, the breasts are lifted whole from the breastbone with the skin left on, and the wing tips are trimmed. The carcass and trimmings are kept for stock, and the fat is rendered for cooking.

The breast, seared and served rosy, is eaten with fruit and acidity, such as cherries, oranges or a sauce of reduced stock with vinegar, because the fat of the skin calls for something sharp to cut it. The legs, slow-cooked or made into confit, go with sautéed potatoes, lentils or white beans, whose starch absorbs the rendered fat. A red wine of moderate tannin and good acidity, such as a Pinot Noir from Burgundy or a Madiran, matches the richness of the meat and cleans the palate between mouthfuls.