If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, looks like a duck, it must be DELICIOUS...

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Just because you may have never cooked duck before is no reason to shy away from it. Duck has such succulent meat, and it's so full of flavour and you don't have to do very much to it for it to turn out well, but the most important thing is not to overcook it - aim for medium rare.




(When I shot the photos for this recipe I tried using duck legs, which worked just as well and is less expensive, but to be honest this recipe is truly tastes best with the traditional duck breast.)


Grilled 'Magret du Canard' with balsamic cherry compote

• 2 large duck breasts or 4 legs






• 1 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar




• about 1 cup fresh cherries, pitted and cut in half
• fresh ground pepper & 'herbes du provence'

Score the fatty skin on the duck pieces in a criss-cross pattern and rub the coarse salt into the crevices. Place the duck in a ziplock bag with the balsamic vinegar and make sure it coats the flesh and marinate for 15-20 max in the fridge. Meanwhile pit and chop the cherries.
Fire up your barbecue to medium-high (about 400ºF), it's a good idea to place a drip pan under the grill because the duck will release a fair bit of fat while cooking and make a mess of your barbecue. 

Pour the contents of the ziplock bag out into a dish and season with pepper and some 'herbes du provence' if you like. Place on hot grill, skin side down and cook until golden and crispy (about 7-8 minutes) and then flip and cook 3-4 minutes more (a bit longer for duck leg). Remove from grill and allow to rest covered for 5-10 minutes (it will continue to cook a bit so be sure not to overcook it!)
Meanwhile put the cherries into a small saucepan along with the reserved marinade and bring it to a good simmer until the cherries start to release their juices and the juice begins to thicken a little bit. Remove from heat.

If you used magret, slice it in 1 cm thick slices.
Arrange on 4 plates, and top with the cherry compote and serve immediately, with a side of veggies (steamed green beans with lemon butter pictured here). 







































"There is no love sincerer than the love of food."
- George Bernard Shaw

1 comment :

  1. Looks delicious! Good job on the blog Marion! looking forward to read it everyday xoxo

    ReplyDelete