Does Duck Need to Be Fully Cooked?
Internal temperature of duck cooked at a restaurant
If you have ever ordered duck in a restaurant and a waiter asked you, “how would you like your duck breast cooked?” You should order something else on the menu. A chef who serves duck understands that medium-rare duck breast is the culinary standard. A chef who asked you how you like your duck breast cooked does not know how to cook duck.
Cooking duck versus cooking other poultry
First time duck eaters might be surprised by this approach. After all, chicken is always cooked until it is done - and for good reason. Wouldn’t it be duck breast need to be fully cooked? Not exactly. While duck is technically defined as poultry, in the culinary world, duck is treated as a red meat (even though it’s not one) and consequently, it’s prepared very differently than poultry. In fact, it is prepared and eaten the same way as beef.
The Moulard Duck
Duck meat is darker and resembles red meat. The dark appearance is a result of a high concentration of myoglobin in the meat. With DUCKCHAR Moulard Duck Breast, this stark contrast is even more apparent. The breast meat of the Moulard duck is colored with a deep red. When cooked, it’s easily confused with loin cut of beef. Duck meat is also very similar to beef in terms of texture. As a result, duck dries out when it is fully cooked. The most pleasurable way to enjoy duck is to cook duck medium rare to an internal temperature of 135 degrees F.
How you should cook duck
The USDA advises that duck be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 F -- the same temperature as chicken. If you prefer this standard, go for it. However, the health considerations with duck are different than chicken. Just like with beef, we weigh the health considerations versus the culinary ones. For example, we prefer a Prime rib eye cooked rare even though that doneness is not the health standard. In that case, the added benefits of a juicier and more flavorful steak outweigh the potential health drawbacks of not cooking the steak to a higher internal temperature. With duck breast, just like with a fine beef steak you have to weigh the benefits and drawbacks. For us, the culinary benefits are worth it.