Pressed duck, a bloody good French specialty

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Have you ever heard of pressed duck before?

Pressed duck also goes by another name, canard à la presse or canard au sang – duck in blood.

And yes, that is French for a very good reason.

Pressed duck is a classic French recipe.

Why?

Well, this dish was first served in the 19th century by restaurant La Tour d’Argent in Paris. And who knew that it would immediately become a culinary highlight!

It still is considered by many to be one of the most spectacular recipes in classical French cuisine.

What is pressed duck?

In short: a roast duck carcass is slowly pressed and crushed between 2 silver plated metal plates to extract the remaining juice and blood.

That juice is used to make a sauce and served on top of the sliced duck breast.

While this traditional method and preparation might sound barbaric, pressed duck in blood sauce is absolutely delicious...

Who invented pressed duck?

That was a man by the name of Machenet.

He was the one that came up with the idea of using a machine to press the duck carcass as a method to use every drop of the duck juice and blood for the sauce.

That was in Paris in the early 19th century, and it quickly became very popular among the culinarily elite and other top chefs at that time.

Why do you press duck?

Why do you press duck.

A duck press is used to squeeze out any blood, juices and marrow that are trapped in an oven roasted duck carcass.

That liquid is caught and then sifted, and used as a base for a flavorful blood sauce.

Even Anthony Bourdain had a duck press at home, one he bought at the famous E. Dehillerin cookware store in Paris.

How is pressed duck made?

So how do you make a canard à la presse?

It already starts with what type of duck you need to make it.

A young duck is used for this recipe. That is why this dish is often called Rouen style duckling or caneton à la rouennaise in French.

Why is that?

The meat of a young ducks is much more tender and flavorful.

Rumor has it that the ducks from the Challans region in the Loire area in France are the best to make this pressed duck classic.

Now here comes the hardest part for some.

Pressed duck is all about the blood sauce, and therefore the ducks can’t be shot or beheaded of course or they would loose too much blood or even bleed out.

To keep all the blood inside the bird, the ducks are suffocated for that purpose.

Once the duck has been plucked and the blood inside has coagulated, its neck, head and legs are cut from the rest of the body. Its intestines (also the duck liver) are removed.

Now the duck is ready to be roasted in the oven.

Usually (not always) the legs are roasted as well, the meat picked off the bones and used in another small creation that can be part of your pressed duck dinner.

Once the duck is roasted, the tender breast fillets are sliced off and kept warm for a little later. The remaining carcass is placed inside the press and squeezed manually.

Juices and blood are collected in a small pan or container to make the sauce later.

And that’s that!

Pressed duck dinner at restaurant Minerva, Antwerp

A couple of months ago we went to restaurant Minerva in Antwerp.

It is one of the very few places that still makes this classic pressed duck specialty.

One of the things we love about canard à la presse is the table side preparation!

Here’s how the duck press works:

the roast duck is put inside the press container
the container goes into the press, a sauce boat put in place to catch the liquid
the wheel is spun manually to tighten the press

4. the carcass is squeezed entirely when the wheel is at its lowest
5. the duck press is tilted to let all the juices flow into the sauce boat
6. the duck juices are poured into a small pan to thicken and enrich the blood sauce