A lot of hunters are intimidated by cooking wild duck. If you are, you should not be. Steven Rinella shares the perfect way to prepare wild duck. There are many different duck recipes out there, this one is simple and is a sure way to make you enjoy cooking and eating wild ducks.
Ingredients
2 duck breasts, skin on with leg attached
3 Tbl cooking oil
Apple Sage Chutney
1 1/2 pounds Granny Smith apples or other tart apples, skin on, medium dice
3/4 cup apple juice
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/4cup golden raisins
2 tbsp honey, more if desired
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh sage
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 tbsp minced garlic
Juice of 1 lemon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Duck Breasts
- Trim the duck breasts by removing any excess membrane from the inside and scoring the fat side in a criss-cross fashion.
- Season duck with salt and pepper.
- Place duck breasts, skin-side down, in a hot, oiled skillet and cook until skin has browned.
- Flip the duck breasts over and place in a 400-degree oven.
- Duck is best at medium rare so pull the breasts from the oven once they reach 125-130 degrees.
- Ten minutes in the oven is a good starting point.
- Let the duck rest for 5 minutes before slicing on the bias.
Chutney
- Combine the apples, apple juice, sugar, vinegar, dried cherries, raisins, honey, sage, rosemary, garlic, and lemon juice in a sauce pot and cook over medium heat until the mixture starts to bubble.
- Reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Let simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Remove the lid and cook another 20-25 minutes. The chutney should be fairly thick.
- Remove it from the pot and let cool. If too dry, add more honey and a splash of water to hydrate and glaze.Cooking Game: Seared Duck Breast with Apple Sage Chutney brought to you by Weston.
