When cooking most cuts of meat on the stovetop, it's common knowledge that it should be seared in a very hot pan to seal in the juices and create a nice crust on the outside. However, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay says that duck breast should always be started in a cold pan, due to its unique composition.

Duck often has a thick layer of fat under the skin, and Ramsay insists that starting a duck breast in a cold pan is the best way to render all that delicious fat. He says that if you put duck breast into a hot pan, the skin will sear too quickly and the fat will get trapped between the skin and meat, instead of properly rendering out.

To perfectly cook duck breast, score the skin so that some of the fat can seep out, place the seasoned breast into a cold pan skin-side-down and cook it over lower heat for 10 minutes, then flip it and sear it on high heat once the fat is nicely rendered to crisp the skin. You can also finish cooking the duck using the oven or the grill.