Duck appetizer

What I've done in the past...

Brining is optional; won't hurt. If you do, 3-4 hrs is plenty. Pat dry, score the fat side every 1/4" with a knife being careful not to cut into the meat. Sear the breasts fat side down over medium heat for 4-5 minutes to render the skin fat.Turn and sear the meat side 1-2 minutes. Season both sides with your rub of choice and smoke them to an internal temp of 140...it won't take long. Have the smoker up to temp with plenty of smoke before adding the duck breasts.

Pull them out and let sit at least 10-15 minutes (so juices settle) Slice very thinly (1/8th inch) and arrange over a 3" corn cake (corn fritter batter lightly pan fried vs deep fried) Add a touch of Cole Slaw and drizzle with your favorite BBQ sauce.

Always a hit at the restaurant.

Sounds like a plan. Would it matter if the pieces are skinless? What I have is a baggie full of pieces, all boneless, so I assume it's all breast meat.

It would as the rendering skin adds flavor and moisture. Not to say it wouldn't work but yoo'll need to pay attention to keep the meat medium-rare or it will dry out and become chewy.

A duck breast lobe is about 5" long x 3" wide with a taper on one end. If you have leg/thigh meat it's probably cut into pieces and chunks. That be the case you might consider another idea. Perhaps smoked duck sausage? Use a ratio of 1/3rd duck meat :: 2/3rds pork butt...the fattier the better. Season, course grind and stuff into casing. They can be smoked or grilled. Try Googling duck sausage and I'm sure you'll get hits.

A picture of the meat would help me guide you better.

Here's a pic of a duck breast:

Like MaxQ said, it be helpful to see a picture of what you actually have.

A couple appetizer things I've done with duck meat.....

-Breast: Cured and smoked to make duck "ham" sliced thinly for a charcuterie plate.
-Legs/Thighs: Smoked duck rillettes.

We used to cure and lightly smoke duck breasts in a Cameron stove top smoker....similar to duck prosciutto in the end. Sliced about 1/16th" and served with Lingonberry Sauce.

quote:

Originally posted by MaxQ:
We used to cure and lightly smoke duck breasts in a Cameron stove top smoker....similar to duck prosciutto in the end. Sliced about 1/16th" and served with Lingonberry Sauce.

Sounds good. Duck and Lingonberry Sauce always go well together. With the thin slices, how did you serve the sauce? Just a little drizzle?

Yes just a bit on the plate for "wiping". It won't drizzle unless you puree it.

I like grilling mine, but now that I have a Cookshack follow this recipe but smoke the duck breast instead. Slice on the bias and serve with Mexican papaya wedges and my wild and white rice medley (the recipe's around here someplace) and some asparagus spears...


Duck breasts can be purchased in most good Asian butcher shops and upscale meat stores. Marinated and grilled it is amazing !!! Sort of like very flavorful beef... Cooked rare it is melt in your mouth tender. Serve with some ripe mexican papaya, lime wedges, Big's White and Wild Rice Medley and asparagus spears (as pictured)...


Mis en place:

1 16 oz. duck breast, fat cut criss cross

marinade:
3 garlic cloves finely minced
1 Tbls. fresh grated ginger
1/2 cup terikayi sauce
1 Tbls sesame oil
1 Tbls rice wine vinegar


Wash and pat dry duck breast. It should have a large fat cap on one side, for the sake of the recipe we will call that the PRESENTATION SIDE... With a sharp paring knife cut lines though the fat cap on an angle - do this the length of the fat cap. Rotate duck breast and repeat so you have a pattern of squares cut into the fat. Season BOTH SIDES of duck breast heavily with salt and fresh cracked black pepper - place duck breast in heavy zip lock bag - add marinade ingredients and close, swish around so everything gets combined well and meat is covered in marinade. Refrigerate at least two hours. Remove one hour before grilling.

Get grill heated. Grill presentation side down first - cook about 8 minutes - grill will flare up like crazy from duck fat cooking off. Keep grill closed as much as possible - flip and cook on 2nd side about 5 minutes. Remove from grill and let rest covered about 5 minutes. Now slice THIN on the bias. Serve as suggested above (see photo below).