Bacon Wrapped Duck Breasts

  4.0 – 21 reviews  

a quick method to cook duck breasts that does not taste “gamey.” For a memorable supper, serve with wild rice and fresh bread.

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr
Additional Time: 20 hrs
Total Time: 21 hrs 15 mins
Servings: 6
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

  1. ¼ cup salt
  2. 8 cups water
  3. 12 duck breast halves
  4. 12 slices bacon
  5. 1 (16 ounce) bottle Italian-style salad dressing
  6. toothpicks

Instructions

  1. Mix together salt and water. Set aside 2/3 of the mixture, and pour the rest into a glass baking dish. Soak the duck in the salt water overnight to remove the gamey. Change the salt water twice, or until mostly clear.
  2. The next morning, discard the salt water, and pour salad dressing over the duck breasts, and marinate for at least 8 hours.
  3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Wrap each breast half in one strip of bacon, and secure with a toothpick. Place the breasts in a 9×13 inch baking dish.
  4. Bake for about 1 hour, or until bacon is crisp, and duck is cooked through.
  5. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Grill duck breasts for about 30 minutes, turning once.

Reviews

Brent Moody
I would do this again but not with the Italian dressing. I let it marinate in the Italian dressing for about an hour then wrapped and baked it to 145° internal temperature. When I sliced into it it seemed rubbery and my conclusion was correct. It was super chewy almost unedible. I think the Italian dressing started to cook the meat and that’s what made it rubbery and tough.
Mary Lewis
Recipe turned out great. My 7 year old daughter wanted seconds. Very savory flavor. Had them cold for lunch as leftovers as well. This will be the go to duck dinner.
Andrew Shepherd
Just perfect!!!
Thomas Woods
I cut the duck breasts in half, wrapped in bacon, threw them on the grill. OFF THE HOOK!!! Made them again this week. This time I cut jalapeño’s in half, stuffed the duck in the jalapeño then wrapped bacon around all of it, Cooked on the grill, ABSOLUTLY PHENOMINAL!!!!! New favorite!!
Nicholas Williams
absolutely delish!!!!!!!
Gabriela Brooks
I actually make a small slice into the duck and add some cream cheese and a jalapeno slice, then wrap in bacon. Yum!
Leslie West
A great way to prepare duck! Mine did not take an hour to cook, more like 40-45 minutes. My husband and son are both avid waterfowl hunters and I’m always looking for new ways to prepare what they bring home. This was good!
Timothy Scott
Excellent!
Lisa Baldwin
I tweeked this a bit; first, we raise our own domestic ducks, and we enjoy the flavor of duck. So I don’t soak the meat to remove any flavor from it, nor do I marinate it in anything. I use the other reviewer’s suggestion of the jalepeno and it’s a big hit. I simply lay out a piece of bacon (I use turkey bacon to cut out a little of the fat), lay a piece of duck on it, put a jalepeno in the center of the duck and roll it all up. I usually chop up some fresh veggies and bake the duck on top of the veggies. I’ve also grilled it the same way, except I wrapped it all up in foil to retain the moisture. It’s been a huge hit every time!
Heather Rice
Another variation is to add a piece of jalepeno. Just cut the breasts into thin pieces and then wrap around the jalepeno piece and wrap in bacon. Then Grill with bbq sauce.
Robert Pineda
This recipe is wonderful!! I have made it a couple of times now. Letting it soak the dressing keeps the flavor locked inside as well. Also, cooking time is key when cooking duck. If you over cook it you will end up with more of a “liver flavor”. I’m not crazy about that. Its great when you go for more of a med/rare instead of a med/well. Great recipe!!! A keeper!
Kathleen Sullivan
I have made this dish many times and it is always a crowd favorite. If someone is new to duck, this would be perfect! NOTE: I sometimes use 50/50 Italian dressing & Ranch Dressing – sounds weird, but it’s amazing 🙂
Kim Skinner
My husband doesnt like italian dressing, so I took the bacon idea and changed the rest. I only soak the duck in plain water, then I saute mushrooms, onion and garlic. Butterfly the breasts and stuff the mixture inside, then wrap in bacon. I then grill the duck until the bacon is nice and crisp. My family loves it.
Gabriel Greene
My husband and I thought this recipe was only O.K. From other reviews, it sounded like the recipe was too salty. I didn’t soak in salt water because of trying to cut down on salt, but soaked it in milk. Maybe the salt is needed for this recipe. I didn’t find the Italian dressing to add much flavor. Maybe it needs to be marinated longer than 8 hours, or maybe a different brand of Italian dressing than the one I used is needed. We rather have beef, pork, chicken or seafood than duck or venison, but we have to eat it because my husband hunts. For someone that really likes wild duck this could be the recipe for them, but not for us. I rather fry or grill our duck breasts. Thank you anyways for the recipe.
Adam Lowe
Being an avid waterfowl hunter as well as cook, I always have lots of duck and goose to cook. I’ve cooked it just about everyway you can think of and this is one of my favorites. I will throw a couple suggestions out that I use as an addition to this base. First, I alwasy slice my duck breasts into the size chunks I’m going to use before I marinate them. Secondly, sometimes I soad them in cola for 24 hours or so. The italian dressing is a must and leave it in there as long as you can (24 hours isn’t too much). The only other thing I do is to add a half pepperocini, water chestnut, banana pepper or jalepeno between the duck and the bacon – just to give it a little something else. Cook until the bacon is done and DO NOT OVER COOK – medium or medium rare is the way to go. Wash down with ice cold beer!
Daniel Cook
I think for someone that likes duck, this would be a good recipe. It was tender, and there was no “gamey” taste. Yet, we didn’t like it at all. You absolutely need to like “game” for this recipe.
Kim Flores
Delicious…but…next time I cook this dish, and there will be a next time, I will soak in plain water instead of salt water, or soak for less time, together with the bacon, which is also salty, this dish was slightly too salty.I served with long grain & wild rice as I hadn’t tried wild rice before, it wonderful, next time wild rice only. This was the first time my wife had had duck, and she enjoyed it, but it was a little rich for her. I love duck, but it seems to be an aquired taste with some people. Also needs a little something as served with rice and bread its quite a dry meal, even with a glass of white wine as we had. Garry Smith
Johnny Long
This was ok…I didn’t soak or marinate as long as recommended, and didn’t really like the Italian flavor the dressing added to the duck. I did double up on the bacon though (hoping to try and get this meat past my 9 yr old son). The bacon does help, but as mentioned in a previous review, when cooking in the oven you might want to turn meat over after bacon crisps to allow the bacon on the underside to crisp also. In the end it wasn’t anything I’ll probably make again. Think next time I cook duck, I’ll go with a little bit more “traditional” of a recipe for duck.
Katherine Harrison
I have to be creative since I am related to several men who love to hunt. Since waterfowl season recently opened, (and the men’s hunt was successful) I had to find some ways to prepare this bird. I’ll be honest, I’m NOT a fan of duck (or wild goose) but this recipe was great! I followed the recipe exactly – except I only marinated in Italian dressing for 5 hours instead of eight. Also, I didn’t need to secure with toothpicks, I just wrapped the bacon around the breast and placed it seam side down. BUT – I had to flip 3/4 of the way through so that the bacon that was on the bottom would turn crisp like the top had. Thanks Triboys for the easy, no hassel, tasty recipe!
Rebecca Buchanan
I have to be creative since I am related to several men who love to hunt. Since waterfowl season recently opened, (and the men’s hunt was successful) I had to find some ways to prepare this bird. I’ll be honest, I’m NOT a fan of duck (or wild goose) but this recipe was great! I followed the recipe exactly – except I only marinated in Italian dressing for 5 hours instead of eight. Also, I didn’t need to secure with toothpicks, I just wrapped the bacon around the breast and placed it seam side down. BUT – I had to flip 3/4 of the way through so that the bacon that was on the bottom would turn crisp like the top had. Thanks Triboys for the easy, no hassel, tasty recipe!
Timothy Morris
Finally, a way to fix all the duck my husband brings home from hunting! I did think it was a little salty and will cut down on that next time. I loved the bacon taste and may double the bacon next time.

 

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