Grilled Duck Breasts With Spicy Orange Sauce

This  is   a  sponsored   post  for  #CookoutWeek courtesy of one  of  our  sponsors  MapleLeafFarms. All opinions and content are  my own. 

Grilled  duck  breast  is  a  wonderful   recipe  for  the  grill.   It  look  impressive    tastes  delicious  and   takes   very little  time  to cook.    Think glamping  or   date  in the  backyard –  you  want  to  make  an  impression –  here  is  your  chance .   These spiced  orange   glazed  duck  breasts  hit  all the  right  notes!

Duck is  not  as  popular  in the US as  chicken,  and  to be  fair  these  two are  entirely different  meats  and  should  be  treated  as  such.   If  you have  had a  well  cooked    duck , you know   first  hand  how  much  more  flavor  it  packs.   Well  what  I am   trying  to  say is  that duck should  be  in  the  menu more  often !

It  was    exciting  to see  Maple Leaf  farms  as  one  of the  sponsors   for  cookout  week .   The  ducks  from  Maple Leaf  Farms are  raised  on  all natural   diet  and  not  fed antibiotics  or  hormones.  YAY !!!  To  know   more  about  their   values   practices  please  check out  their  website  for  more information.

These  are  some  of  the  products  that  they offer –  the  duck bacon  was  absolutely  new    to us.  Boy was  I glad  to  see that in  in the  package!     May be  I should  take  a  break and  remind  you  to   enter  the cookoutweek  raffle. One  of the  goodies  waiting  for   a  lucky  winner  is a  package  containing   duck , duck and  more duck ?  Go on, click that  link  …

I decided  to   grill  the  duck breast.  This  is  actually a  recipe  inspired   by the  flavors  of   duck a l’orange and   the  lil one’s  favorite  – orange  chicken ? .  Duck   goes  very well with fruity flavors   especially citrus  and    berries.

The   duck breast  is  marinated  in a  simple  marinade  of   citrus, oil  , salt  and  pepper  and   grilled.   Unlike  chicken  ,  duck is   all dark  meat –  it  means  more  flavor !! But   even  the breast    has a  layer  of  fat  that  if not  rendered  out  properly   will  leave a  greasy , non  appealing  taste .

Render  it  out  correctly  and  you  end  up  with a  lovely  skin –  think  peaking  duck !   One  of  the   traditional ways  to  do this  is  to  slow  roast   the  whole  bird. This gives  excellent results  but  takes  time. All  that  thick skin  becomes crispy  and    the  meat   stays  tender  and  flavorful  while  the   excess  fat  slowly  drips  out.

You get  very comparable  results   when   grilling . Instead  of  open fire, I chose  to grill the   duck  on the  grill pan.  This  way  I could ensure  that   there  were  no  flareups  as  the   fat  dripped  off, and  the  meat  did  not  have  to sit  on the   rendered  fat.

Score  the   skin  in a  cross hatch pattern  almost  all the  way to the  meat  to  help  with  the  process.  Do not  cut through the meat .  You  will  feel the  difference  as  the  knife   cuts  through the  skin and touches  the meat.

Grill  the  duck  breasts   skin  side  first   to get  the  skin as  crisp as  possible  and  finish cooking   by flipping   the  meat.    I like  it   almost  all the  way cooked, but  if  you prefer  medium  rare  that is  the  way to  go !

The  sauce  can be  easily made   while the  duck is   cooking. Easy,  simple  – but  looks  and   tastes   absolutely divine.

Serve it  with salad , or   rice  pilaf   or  grilled  vegetables – the  choice  is  yours .   Here  I have  paired  this  with a  an easy rice pilaf  and  grilled  asparagus.

The  duck   tasted  delicious , no  gaminess or unwanted  flavors  here.  The  duck  tasted  clean and  fresh.  It  was   frozen  and  thawed  but    there  was  no  discernible  loss of    flavors  –  two  thumbs   up !

And before  I  forget   check out  maple  leaf  farms   Instagram  feed – there  are  many drool worth  duck recipes  and   inspirations there ..

Finally  here is  the recipe  for   Grilled  duck with   spiced orange sauce ..

Grilled Duck Breast With Spicy Orange Sauce

By Syama

Orange and  duck  pairs  really well,  bring  some  spice  to the  party for an added  flavor . Cook the  duck breasts  over the grill and  serve  with the  spiced  orange  sauce. 

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Resting Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Fusion

Servings 2

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 Maple Leaf Farms Boneless Duck Breasts 7.5 oz Each
• 1 Tbsp Neutral Oil vegetable / pure olive oil
• ¼ Tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper About 10 turns on the pepper mill
• 1 Tbsp Fresh Lemon juice

For Orange Sauce

• 1 Tbsp Fresh Orange Zest
• ½ C Fresh Squeezed Orange juice
• ½ Tsp Red Pepper Flakes Adjust to Taste
• ½ Tsp Hot sauce Optional (Notes)
• 1 Tbsp Orange Marmalade
• Salt To taste
• Sugar To taste

To Serve

• Rice Pilaf
• Grilled Asparagus

Instructions

 

• Pat dry the duck breasts (thaw if frozen). With a sharp knife score the skin in a cross hatch pattern to get a diamond pattern of 1 inch sides.
• Mix the marinate for the duck together. Pour over the duck breasts and rub into the skin gently .
• Heat the grill with a grill pan. Avoid direct heat grilling as the dripping duck fat can cause flare ups and burnt meat.
• Mix the orange juice, zest , chili flakes and hot sauce in a small sauce pan. Bring to boil over medium heat and reduce the temperature and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Add the marmalade and mix well. Taste and adjust salt and if needed add more hot sauce or sugar to balance e the flavors. Set aside.
• Keep the grill at medium heat. Oil the grill pan and place the duck breast skin side down. Let it cook for 4 to 5 minutes each side for medium - medium rare ,  and about 10 minutes each side for well done.
• Cook the  skin side   a  little  longer  to  help it  crisp .  For  medium  rare   cook  for  about  10 minutes - 6 minutes  with the  skin side  down and  4  minutes after   flipping,  Use a  similar  ratio to cook to your  preference. 
• Remove from the grill to a carving board . Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing .
• Thinly slice the duck breasts at an angle and serve with the spiced orange glaze.

Notes

As given  this sauce is  sweet  and spicy. To  reduce  the   kick  from the  peppers  hold  back the  red  chili flakes.  If  that is  not  enough use a  mild  hot  sauce. 

Important: Nutrition Values are estimates. Actuals vary based on ingredients and serving size.

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