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Duck Breast Tartare

I was asked to prepare this tartare recipe for a cooking class focused on French cuisine—I had never heard of preparing raw duck this way, and have found that it’s important to source very clean and fresh duck to prepare this dish.
If you are an adventurous eater, and want to try something new with tartare, consider this unique recipe, but be careful of the risks associated with consuming raw or undercooked products!
Again, be aware of the risks of consuming raw or uncooked products here…not trying to get anyone sick!

Ingredients

  • 1 duck breast (fat removed, flesh diced finely)
  • 1 tsp Kosher salt
  • 1.5 Tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 Tbsp capers (finely minced)
  • 2 Tbsp red onion (finely minced)
  • 2 Tbsp cornichons (finely minced)
  • 2 tsp sherry vinegar
  • A pinch of freshly-ground black pepper (or more, to taste)
  • 2 Tbsp fresh chives (about 10 chives, very finely sliced)
  • 1 loaf of baguette-style bread (sliced into roughly 20 slices)
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil

Instructions 

  • Preheat your oven to 425˚F.
  • While the oven is preheating, prepare the tartare topping:
  • Combine the finely-minced duck breast with a pinch of Kosher salt, along with the Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, minced capers, minced red onion, minced cornichons, sherry vinegar, and freshly-ground black pepper.
  • Fold in the finely-sliced chives, and taste the mixture at this stage.
  • Carefully add more Kosher salt, freshly-ground black pepper, or sherry vinegar, if desired.
  • *Some folks will mix in an uncooked egg yolk at this stage!
  • For the crostini, slice your bread into small bite-sized pieces, and arrange the slices onto a parchment-lined sheet tray.
  • Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the slices of bread before placing them in the oven.
  • Once the oven is preheated, add the sheet tray with the sliced bread, and toast the slices at 425˚F until lightly crispy, or about five to seven minutes.
  • Once lightly toasted, remove the bread from the oven and allow the slices to cool for roughly three minutes.
  • When the bread slices have mostly cooled, assemble the crostini with scoops of the duck breast tartare added on top.
  • Add a few slices chives on top, if desired.
  • Serve warm, with napkins.

Notes

It is best to make the tartare filling fresh, as the lime juice and salt tend to oxidize the surface of the protein and turn the meat into a brown-looking diced product—it looks and tastes a bit better when freshly-seasoned!
These are best served and eaten while the crostini are still warm.