Slow-Cooker Duck Breasts

April. The azaleas are blooming for nobody. The whole city is empty and the flowers don't know it, so they just keep being beautiful, which is either inspiring or heartbreaking depending on what time of day you catch me.

I planted the garden this week. Alone. No Earl to sit in his chair and supervise. No Denise to help — she's staying home because Robert has asthma and they're being careful. Just me and the dirt and the Cherokee Purples and the faith that tomatoes will grow whether or not there's a pandemic, because tomatoes don't watch the news.

I talked to Earl while I planted. Out loud, in the garden, on my knees in the dirt. I said, "Earl, I'm putting in the tomatoes. Yes, I know they're too close together. No, I don't care. You can complain from wherever you are." A cardinal landed on the fence — a male, bright red, bold as anything — and sat there watching me plant for a full ten minutes. Denise would say that's Earl. Miss Corrine would say that's a sign. I say it's a cardinal. But I talked to it anyway, because loneliness makes you conversational with wildlife, and I am not ashamed.

Kayla is exhausted. The hospital is filling up. She's in full PPE for twelve hours — the mask, the gown, the face shield, the gloves. She says the patients come in scared and alone, because no visitors are allowed, and the nurses are the only faces they see, and some of those faces are the last faces they see. My granddaughter is twenty-four years old and she is watching people die alone, and I cannot hold her, and I cannot feed her in person, and I leave food on her porch and pray it's enough.

I made oxtails this week. Braised for four hours, the meat falling off the bone, the gravy thick and dark. I made enough for four people and ate one portion and delivered the rest. Oxtails take time. Time is the one thing I have too much of now. Time and love and food that needs a porch.

Now go on and feed somebody.

Oxtails aren’t always easy to find, and some weeks the butcher is out before you even get there — but the need for a long, slow, all-day cook doesn’t go away just because the cut isn’t available. That’s when I turn to duck breasts in the slow cooker: same patience required, same deep, dark result, same kind of food that says I made this with hours, not minutes. When you’re leaving meals on somebody’s porch and praying they feel the love through the container lid, this is the recipe that carries it.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 6–8 hours | Total Time: Up to 8 hours 15 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 bone-in duck breast halves (6–8 oz each)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

Score and season. Using a sharp knife, score the duck skin in a crosshatch pattern, cutting through the fat but not into the meat. Pat the breasts completely dry with paper towels, then season all over with salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and thyme.
Sear the skin. Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Place the duck breasts skin-side down and sear without moving for 3–4 minutes, until the skin is golden brown and has rendered some of its fat. You are not cooking the duck through — just building a crust and color.
Build the slow cooker base. Scatter the sliced onion and minced garlic across the bottom of the slow cooker insert. Place the seared duck breasts on top, skin-side up, so the skin stays above any liquid and does not go soggy.
Add the braising liquid. In a small bowl, stir together the chicken broth, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour the mixture around — not over — the duck breasts.
Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 6–8 hours, or on HIGH for 3–4 hours, until the meat is deeply tender and pulls easily from the bone. Low and slow is preferred: it gives the fat time to render fully and the flavors time to settle in.
Rest before serving. Transfer the duck to a cutting board or serving platter and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving. Spoon the braising juices and softened onions over the top as a gravy.

Nutrition (per serving)

Slow-Cooker Duck Breasts — A Long, Slow Cook for When You Have Nothing But Time and Love