Core Temperature Duck

In general, it is recommended that poultry be prepared at a core temperature of 75°C, to ensure that there are no bacteria that can make us sick. However, duck breast is often served pink or medium, because a well-done duck breast often becomes dry and boring to eat. So Yes, duck can be pink, but if you cook a whole duck, it is recommended to roast it to done.

When cooking a whole duck roast, cook it until the core temperature is 75°C. Use a thermometer to check if the duck has reached the desired temperature. You should go for a core temperature of 75°C both if you cook your duck roast in the oven or on the grill.

You need to stick the tip of your thermometer where the heat has the most difficulty reaching in. That is, in the thickest piece of meat, which is most often in the chest or thigh. Avoid sticking the thermometer all the way in so that it reaches the bones or goes all the way through. Often the thigh may take longer to cook than the breast meat, so always check if the thigh is finished if you have had the thermometer sitting in the breast meat before taking the duck out of the oven.

If you don’t have a cooking thermometer when cooking your duck, then you should follow the time in the recipes you follow. You check if the duck is finished by sticking in the chest and thigh with a fork or meat needle, all the way to the bone. If the juice comes out clear, then the duck is finished, it is bloody, then the duck should be prepared a little longer.

When we make duck breast in sous vide, the temperature is often set at 58 degrees, but how can we be sure to get the bacteria killed at such a low temperature? It is simply because when sous vide cooking, the meat is prepared over a longer period of time, and therefore you can use lower temperatures. So you don’t need to fry duck to 75°C when cooking in sous vide.