Eleven Madison Park Honey-Glazed Duck

It matters for the final flavor profile but not for the technique. Muscovy duck — the breed EMP used at the restaurant — is a large, lean, game-flavored bird with a muscular breast and minimal subcutaneous fat compared to Pekin. The breast meat has a slightly livery, iron-forward richness that can handle bold spices and aggressive glazing without tasting muddied. Pekin duck (also called Long Island duck), which is what you will find at most American supermarkets and butchers, has more fat under the skin and a milder, more approachable flavor. The fat difference is the main practical issue: Pekin requires more thorough fat-rendering during the cook (hence the pricking step), while Muscovy's leaner skin can handle higher heat more directly. For the home cook, Pekin is the correct call — it is widely available fresh, it responds beautifully to the spice rub and honey glaze, and it produces more rendered fat in the pan (useful for those roasted vegetables). If you can source Muscovy from a specialty butcher or farmers market, the flavor reward is worth the premium, but do not let its absence stop you from making the recipe.

Lavender honey is produced when bees forage primarily on lavender blooms, giving the honey a distinctly floral, slightly herbal character that goes directly to the lavender note in EMP's glaze. It is sold at specialty food stores, Whole Foods, and farmers markets, particularly during summer and fall. Brands like Savannah Bee Company and Rigoni di Asiago produce widely distributed versions. If you cannot find it, the simplest substitute is ¼ cup of good clover or wildflower honey with ½ teaspoon of dried culinary lavender buds ground to a powder and stirred in — let it sit for 20 minutes before using to let the lavender infuse. The key is that the honey should be a good one: a floral, aromatic varietal (acacia, orange blossom, or Manuka all work) produces a noticeably better glaze than a neutral commercial honey. The honey forms the entire flavor foundation of the skin.

The 24-hour uncovered fridge rest is not optional if you want crisp skin. Raw duck skin contains a significant amount of moisture — both surface moisture from handling and water bound within the skin itself. If that moisture is present when the duck hits a hot oven, it steams rather than fries, producing skin that puffs and steams rather than crisping and rendering. The uncovered rest in the fridge lets the cold, circulating air draw moisture from the skin surface continuously for 24 hours, dehydrating it to a state where it crisps within minutes of hitting heat. EMP's restaurant version went further — the birds were hung and aged for up to 14 days in a temperature-controlled environment with very precise airflow. That is not possible at home, but the 24-hour method achieves roughly 60 percent of the skin-texture benefit. If you genuinely cannot spare the time, a minimum of 4 hours uncovered in the fridge will help. At zero rest time, you are fighting physics and will get disappointing skin no matter how hot your oven is.

At Eleven Madison Park, the duck arrived at the table on a rolling cart, still whole and rested, and was carved by a server using a long slicing knife with practiced, unhurried movements in full view of the guests. The breast was removed in two halves by cutting along the keel bone, then sliced against the grain into thick, slightly fanned pieces. The legs were separated at the joint, the thigh bone removed and discarded, and the leg meat presented alongside the breast. The carcass was often taken back to the kitchen to be pressed for a jus served on the side. For the home cook: rest the duck on a cutting board for at least 15 minutes — the juices need time to redistribute. Remove the legs first by cutting through the joint where they meet the body; the joint will give way cleanly once you find the socket. Then run a knife along each side of the keel bone to free the two breast halves. Slice the breast on the bias at a shallow angle for broad, even pieces. The leg and thigh can be served whole (it photographs beautifully) or the thigh bone removed and the meat cut into pieces.

In June 2021, Daniel Humm reopened EMP after its COVID closure as a fully plant-based restaurant — no meat, no fish, no animal products of any kind except honey. The decision was significant: Humm had built his reputation partly on the duck, on a famous prosciutto-wrapped chicken, on elaborate fish preparations. He said at the time that the pandemic had given him the space to think about what kind of restaurant he wanted to run, and that he wanted to demonstrate that fine dining could be exceptional without relying on animal proteins. The New York Times characterized it as 'a deeply personal and potentially career-redefining act.' Early reviews of the plant-based tasting menu were mixed — some critics found the food extraordinary, others found it a constrained showcase. Since late 2024, EMP has experimented with a hybrid approach, offering plant-based as the default with an optional supplemental meat and fish track for guests who request it. The original honey-glazed duck with its full tableside ceremony has not returned.

The pan drippings from roasting a duck are gold — deeply savory, richly flavored rendered duck fat with caramelized honey and spice residue. Roasted root vegetables (halved parsnips, whole shallots, thick carrot batons) placed in the roasting pan around the duck for the last 40 minutes of cooking will absorb those drippings and become the natural side dish. For starch, a celery root purée (roasted, then blended with butter or olive oil and cream until silky) echoes the fine-dining register of the dish without competing with the duck's spices. A bitter green salad with a sharp vinaigrette — frisée, endive, or arugula — cuts the richness of the meat. For the table: a simple red-wine jus made from the roasting juices (deglaze the pan with ½ cup red wine over medium heat, scraping up the fond, then strain and reduce by half) adds a sauce without requiring a separate effort. This combination — root vegetables, celery root purée, bitter greens, simple jus — is close to how EMP composed the plate.

Yes, and the method is actually more forgiving on duck breasts. Use 4 skin-on, bone-in duck breast halves (Moulard or Pekin, about 10 oz each). Score the skin in a crosshatch pattern with a sharp knife, cutting through the fat but not into the meat. Season the skin side with the spice rub and let rest uncovered in the fridge for 4 hours (a whole-duck overnight cure is too long for breasts). To cook: place the breasts skin-side down in a cold oven-safe skillet and turn the heat to medium. Cook undisturbed for 12 to 15 minutes as the fat renders and the skin crisps; the skin will turn golden and release cleanly from the pan. Flip and cook the flesh side for 2 minutes. Brush the skin generously with the honey glaze and transfer the pan to a 400°F oven for 5 to 7 minutes until the glaze is set and the internal temperature of the thickest part of the breast reads 130 to 135°F for medium-rare (rosy and tender) or 145°F for medium. Rest 5 minutes before slicing. The flavors are the same; the presentation is more weeknight-friendly.

Szechuan peppercorns are not black pepper. They are the dried husks of a berrylike fruit from the prickly ash tree native to China, and their most distinctive quality is a tingling, slightly numbing sensation on the lips and tongue caused by a compound called hydroxy-alpha-sanshool. They also have a floral, citrusy quality entirely unlike black pepper. In EMP's spice rub, they contribute the tingle and the floral lift that bridges the warm earthiness of coriander and cumin toward the lavender in the glaze. Find them at Asian grocery stores, Whole Foods spice aisles, or online; they are inexpensive and keep for months in a sealed jar. If you truly cannot find them, substitute a 50/50 blend of black peppercorns and a small amount (½ tsp) of lemon zest, added off-heat after toasting — it approximates the citrus-floral quality without the numbing, which cannot be replicated. The result will still be a delicious spice rub; it will just taste different in a way EMP regulars would notice.