Macadamia-crusted duck breast with spicy “soy” ginger sauce is dinner-party cooking at its most impressive: duck breasts seared skin-side down until the fat renders, then topped with honey and crushed macadamias and roasted to a golden crust. The sauce — shallots, garlic, jalapeño, ginger, and coconut aminos — simmers in the same pan while the duck roasts. Rich, crunchy, and sweet-hot in perfect balance.
SERVES 4
Coconut aminos are a great Paleo substitute for soy sauce. They have a similar salty flavor, with a slight hint of sweetness. I use real soy sauce made from fermented soybeans as a condiment. Soybeans have a high level of phytates, which tend to block the body’s absorption of minerals. However, fermentation substantially reduces levels of phytic acid, so fermented soy is preferable.
In recipes such as this one, I prefer the subtler flavor of coconut aminos to soy sauce. The bold flavors of this spicy sauce complement the creaminess and rich flavor of the duck.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup/120 g macadamia nuts
4 duck breast halves, boneless, skin on
sea salt and pepper
1 tbsp/15 g duck fat or ghee
2 tsp/15 g raw honey
FOR THE SAUCE:
1 cup/240 g shallots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, minced
1 tbsp/8 g fresh ginger, grated
¼ cup/60 ml coconut aminos
2 tbsp/30 ml fresh lime juice
1 tsp/7 g raw honey
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C. Place macadamia nuts in a food processor and blend until crushed. Heat a skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium-high heat. Generously season both sides of the duck breasts with salt and pepper. Add the duck fat or ghee to the pan, then add the duck skin-side down. Brown until the skin has a nice golden crust, about 5 minutes. Flip over and brown the other side for 1 to 2 minutes.
Transfer the duck breasts to a glass baking dish, skin-side up. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Spoon ½ teaspoon of honey on the skin side of each duck breast. Spoon enough of the crushed macadamia nuts over the honey so the entire top of the duck breast is covered. Make sure the breast is well coated. Do this to the remaining duck breasts. Place in the oven and roast for 20 minutes medium well.
While the duck breasts are roasting, make the sauce. Using the same pan that the duck was seared in, drain all but about 1 tablespoon/15 ml of fat. Add the shallots. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, jalapeño and ginger. Sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the coconut aminos, lime juice and honey. Simmer until slightly reduced. Adjust salt to taste. Remove duck breast from the oven, let rest for 5 minutes and serve drizzled with sauce.
Pro Tips
- Score nothing — instead, start the duck skin-side down in a hot pan and let the fat render fully for about 5 minutes before flipping; rendering is what makes the skin crisp.
- Cool the breasts a few minutes before spooning on the honey — hot fat melts the honey straight off and the macadamia crust slides away.
- Crush the macadamias to a coarse rubble, not a powder; the varied pieces are what give the crust its dramatic crunch.
- Build the sauce in the same skillet, draining all but a spoonful of the rendered duck fat — those browned sear bits are the sauce's foundation.
- Roast to medium-well (about 20 minutes) and rest 5 minutes before slicing; duck breast served piping hot loses its silky texture.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I use instead of macadamia nuts?
Cashews or blanched almonds both crust well, though macadamias are uniquely buttery and worth seeking out for this particular dish.
Is duck breast supposed to be pink?
It's traditionally served medium to medium-rare, but this recipe roasts to medium-well to support the nut crust. The gentle roast keeps it succulent either way.
Why coconut aminos instead of soy sauce?
Coconut aminos keep the dish paleo with a subtler, slightly sweet saltiness. Fermented soy is preferable to unfermented when soy is used, but coconut aminos suit this sauce's flavor better.
How do I know the skin is properly rendered?
It should be deep golden and noticeably thinner after 5 minutes skin-side down, with a pool of clear fat in the pan. Pale, flabby skin means the pan wasn't hot enough.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Method
- COOKING INSTRUCTIONS Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C.
- Place macadamia nuts in a food processor and blend until crushed.
- Heat a skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium-high heat. Generously season both sides of the duck breasts with salt and pepper.
- Add the duck fat or ghee to the pan, then add the duck skin-side down. Brown until the skin has a nice golden crust, about 5 minutes.
- Flip over and brown the other side for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Transfer the duck breasts to a glass baking dish, skin-side up. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Spoon ½ teaspoon of honey on the skin side of each duck breast. Spoon enough of the crushed macadamia nuts over the honey so the entire top of the duck breast is covered.
- Make sure the breast is well coated. Do this to the remaining duck breasts.
- Place in the oven and roast for 20 minutes medium well.
- While the duck breasts are roasting, make the sauce.
- Using the same pan that the duck was seared in, drain all but about 1 tablespoon/15 ml of fat.
- Add the shallots.
- Cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, jalapeño and ginger.
- Sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in the coconut aminos, lime juice and honey.
- Simmer until slightly reduced.
- Adjust salt to taste.
- Remove duck breast from the oven, let rest for 5 minutes and serve drizzled with sauce.
