PGI Landes Free-Range Duck Breast Fillet

In southwestern France, duck breast fillet is served during celebrations year round. It is delicious pan-seared, grilled on the barbecue, dried or smoked and paired with a salad, or served as duck confit for a comforting winter meal. 

It's a great example of the French paradox—a lean meat that originates from an overweight duck. It also pairs well with a red Bordeaux wine. Duck breast fillet is called magret in French, which in turn means petit maigre, or "little lean meat" in Occitan, the language spoken in southern France. This type of meat is actually a fillet taken from the pectoral muscles of a fatty duck. In Landes, Red-Label free-range ducks are raised outdoors for more than 102 days of the year. They are fed whole corn kernels grown in the region and raised in a traditional manner in accordance with a strict set of specifications. The same level of strictness applies to how the meat is processed after slaughter. The duck breast fillet must be cut within 24 hours, packaged in a certain manner, and clearly labeled. Red-Label certification guarantees a high-quality processing method was used and can also be applied to cooked products, such as duck confit.