Recipe
Salt-cured Duck Breast with Fig Jam
Recipe adapted from Taming the Flame
The duck is a very fatty bird—which is why it’s so delicious—but the fat has a tendency to drip onto the grill and potentially cause dangerous flare-ups. So it’s important to keep a drip pan underneath the bird. Ducks also have a wonderfully thick skin that, in addition to sealing moisture inside, tastes amazing when cooked to a crisp. Like many duck recipes, this one gets a sweet pairing—fig jam—that balances beautifully with the rich dark meat and the savory skin, which is cured for at least four hours. It’s worth the extra wait.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 4 skin-on boneless duck breasts
- 2 cups very coarse sea salt (not kosher)
- 1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon coarsely ground pepper
- 1/4 cup best-quality fig jam
- 4 tablespoons juice of half a lemon
Preparation
-
Pat the duck dry with paper towels. Score the skin by making diagonal cuts (about 5) across each breast—do not cut completely through the skin. Put the breasts in a square, 8-inch disposable aluminum container. Set aside. Mix the salt, sugar, and pepper, and pour over the duck. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
-
When ready to cook, build a charcoal fire or preheat the gas grill. Remove the breasts from the pan, and shake off excess salt. Place the duck, fat-side up, in the center of the cooking grate over indirect medium heat, cover, and grill-roast for 40 minutes. Turn the duck over and continue grilling until the skin is crispy and the meat is tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. (If the skin is not crisp, move the duck to an area of direct heat, skin-side down, for 3 to 4 minutes.) When the skin is caramelized, return the meat to an area of indirect heat and turn over to glaze.
-
Mix the jam with the lemon juice, and brush it generously onto the skin of the breasts. Grill for 5 more minutes or until the fig glaze is set. Remove from the grill, and let the breasts rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- Keywords
- style and advice,
- food and drinks,
- recipe,
- duck breast
