Small, wild ducks can be easily prepared using this recipe for skinless duck breast. It is always quite popular, just like eating steak! Save the excess meat for a stew or stock and only use the breasts. You can prepare the duck thighs in this manner even if you just have 1 duck.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 10 mins |
| Additional Time: | 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 55 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon hot sauce
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 skinned, boned duck breast halves
Instructions
- Gather all ingredients.
- Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
- Stir together Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, garlic, hot sauce, and pepper in a large bowl. Add duck breasts; toss well to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator, 30 minutes to overnight.
- Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
- Preheat the grill for medium-high heat.
- Remove duck from marinade and cook on the preheated grill to desired doneness, 5 to 7 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Discard marinade.
- Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
- Cook time will depend on the size of the duck breast and the temperature of the grill.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 297 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 5 g |
| Cholesterol | 223 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Protein | 43 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Sodium | 346 mg |
| Sugars | 2 g |
| Fat | 11 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Tasty! Used this recipe for the duck and then added the duck to rice and stir fried vegetables.
First time having duck really good. Didn’t have really any game tast
My teenage son came home beaming on Thanksgiving morning after his first successful hunting venture with several skinless duck breast fillets. What now? We never eat game. I had gamey venison jerky once and could not choke it down, so I was leery of any recipe purporting to produce edible meat. Brined the breasts in ice water as others suggested. Followed the recipe exactly as written and grilled the breasts medium rare. TASTED LIKE BEEF STEAK! Tender and delicious! Every skeptic at the dinner table agreed. Can’t wait to use the cooked meat in fajitas, sandwiches, etc. I am so happy we can enjoy the duck my son brought home. Thank you!!
Wow! Maybe it’s the Worcestershire, but you could fool someone into thinking this is steak. This dish is fabulous as is. Remember to pull the fat off the duck breast and marinade several hours. Duck breast is expensive, but you won’t be disappointed.
I used brine with 3tsp non iodine sea salt per quart of cold water overnight for about 12hrs. I mixed up the marinade at the same time in a gallon ziploc bag. The next morning I took the breasts, dried them off, and transferred them to the marinade for the remainder of the day. We made them for supper that night. Grilled over high heat (550°F) for about 6 minutes a side. Turned out tender and not gamey tasting at all! Super recipe! Will be using it again, I think. And a definite recommendation to anybody who has never made wild duck before!
I made this as the recipe states and it was delicious. I stopped grilling when it was about 145-150 degrees (about 20 minutes total.)
Excellent! Mallards soaked in salt and ice water for 2 hours and marinade for 3 hours. Best we have ever fixed.
I soaked the breasts in salt water for three days changing the water everyday. The result was like a beef filet with no game taste. I cook all my ducks on grill about 8 min a side med-high heat to a medium just a little pink. Carl B
Awesome. I usually cook these with bacon. today I tried without it on freshly harvested wild duck. All I can say is “Awesome”!
My son hunted duck yesterday morning for the first time. He shot three. Didn’t know how to prepare them but this recipe was perfect. The breasts were tender and flavorful with no wild game taste at all. This is a keeper.
Amazing. Went out goose hunting, came back with ducks. Thought I’d give this a try before making everything into Jerky (not a duck fan). But wow, so simple. I left out the hot sauce and added a bit of soya sauce. Marinated over night and pan fried to just red in the center. Simply amazing. Make sure to clean the breasts properly (no fat, skin or silver lining, and soak the breasts in water, rinsing until the water is just pink. These wild ducks have absolutely no game taste whatsoever.
Throw some paprika and brown sugar in there if you really want to be delighted!
I don’t normally give reviews, but wow, I gotta tell you, this is without a doubt the best marinade for grilled duck breast I’ve ever tried. I did substitute the Worcestershire which I’m not a big fan of for Soy sauce and added just a tablespoon of the Worcestershire … I marinated it over night. I also did the ice water cleansing for lack of a better term. FANTASTIC!
I soaked my duck breast in buttermilk and salt for a day and then follows this recipe exactly. Wow! It turned out wonderful! My first time cooking wild duck. Reminded me of beef fillet. Great recipe!!
Used the tips suggesting we soak the duck and there was no gamey taste at all. Possibly could have rated this recipe 5 stars but, in spite of my repeated warnings, my husband overcooked the breasts. They were still quite good.
Did it exactly like the recipe and it was fantastic. Just don’t overcook the duck.
Really surprised at how it got right through the gamy taste. Even my kids enjoyed it. Thanks for posting 🙂
The recipe was fantastic and the advice of Scott Porter on how to grill without using a brine was spot on. 🙂
My favorite marinade for wild duck breast. I and soy and brown sugar. Very tasty without hiding the taste of the duck.
Great marinade, I still grill bacon wrapped with a jalapeno. Don’t overcook it and it will be hard to beat. Only way my wife will eat wild duck.
Soaked in brine for one hour. next time I may try to soak in milk. grilled to 130 degrees, which was perfect. Still a tad gamey but not too overpowering