Posted • @myk.mann One of the key things when cooking food that is one step above everything else is taking the time to prepare the ingredients, cleaning them up the same way you clean yourself up when you have a hot date and want to impress. I might not be able to help you clean up for a date but I can help you clean up your plate.
Here's how to clean a duck breast. (Same applies principles apply to other birds, and most meats for that matter.) 1: dry, it's much easier to work with dry meat
2: remove the tender, if still attached
3: trim excess fat and silver skin. A sharp knife is a great help here as you want to slide the knife between the silver skin and the breast taking off as little meat as possible. The sharper your knife the easier that is.
4: score the skin by making shallow patterned cuts from side to side and end to end. This helps keep the skin from pulling the flesh and disforming it when it shrinks while cooking. It also makes the end product look more elegant and refined.
