Wild Duck Breasts with Grand Marnier Sauce
Today we are searing Blue Bill duck breasts and then finishing with a Grand Marnier sauce. The Grand Marnier sauce gives the duck a really rich flavor. This recipe is very special to me as the duck is from my son's first ever duck hunt.
You can make this duck recipe inside on the stove or out on the grill. All you need is a hot cast iron skillet. The original recipe is from ducks.org, but I’ve modified it for our taste.
Ingredients
• 2 wild duck breast
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cardamom
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/3 cup Grand Marnier liqueur
• 1 stick butter, cut into 3 pieces
Recipe Instructions
- Mix the olive oil, salt, pepper and cardamom well, then place the mixture and the duck breasts in a Ziploc bag (or vacuum seal) and marinate for 3 hours.
- Heat a cast iron skillet with the vegetable oil over medium-high heat and brown the duck breasts on both sides or until rare, about 1.5 - 2 minutes per side. If you want the duck cooked medium rare, then add about 1 minute per side. I encourage you to not cook duck breast past medium rare.
- Transfer the duck to a plate and lightly cover with aluminum foil.
- To prepare the sauce, combine orange juice, orange zest, cardamom and red pepper in a pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Add the honey and then Grand Marnier.
- Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the mixture is reduced to about ¼ cup. Remove from the heat and stir in butter, a piece at a time.
- Slice duck and drizzle the sauce over the sliced duck. Serve the remainder of the sauce to dip.
