It’s funny how things can just go sideways, no matter what you do. This is a case of the sideways happening.

Basically, I wanted to make duck breasts and have a lovely dinner with my husband. Everything was going so well too. I was trying a new Freestyle Portable Grill. It was so shiny! The bad weather had held off long enough for me to get out and grill without getting wet. Yes, there is NO excuse for not grilling, but I still don’t like getting wet! And then “poof” everything went sideways. The duck cooked too fast on the outside, and was scary rare on the inside. Then it took another hour to make the gravy and risotto, so by the time I got to the duck again it was rubber. Hee hee, rubber duck…

It was all my fault. Don’t get me wrong. I answered a phone call, and I certainly did not research the cooking of this particular meat well enough to know when it was done. Nor did I make sure to be prepared with the side dish. Preparation is key when making any meal. I was not prepared. It was still very tasty though. And if you follow the directions, there should be no problem with your grilled duck.

Let me first say that duck is nothing like chicken in any way when it comes to preparing it. Duck is all dark meat. It also has a thick layer of fat under the skin, that it is not desirable to eat.

METHOD
Pea Risotto

1. Heat the chicken stock.
2. In a separate pan Heat the oil and 1 tbsp. butter until the butter has melted. Add the onion and stir fry until the onion is translucent.
3. Add the rice to the pot and stir it briskly to cover the grains with oil and butter. Sauté until the rice gives off a slightly nutty aroma, another minute or so. Do not let the rice turn brown.
4. Add a ladle of hot chicken stock to the rice and stir until the liquid has been absorbed. When the rice appears almost dry, add another ladle. Be careful not to let the rice burn.
5. Continue adding ladles of stock and stirring until the liquid is absorbed. As it cooks it will have a milky consistency. Keep doing this until the rice is firm to the bite, without being crunchy. This should take about 20 minutes. If you run out of stock, use water.
6. Stir in the peas, the parmesan and the remaining butter. Add the parsley and season to taste with salt.

Duck

1. Wipe your grids down with oil. Preheat grill to high on one side. Or use your infrared for this. But you still want the grill preheated to 450°F.
2. Pat the duck breasts dry with paper towel. Score the skin of the breast in a diamond pattern. Massage the salt, pepper, garlic and thyme into the breasts.
3. Sear the breasts, meat side down for a minute or two if you are using a regular grill. For infrared, only about 45 seconds. Flip the breasts and sear the skin side.
4. Turn your grill down, if you only have one burner, or if you have more than one burner, turn off all but one burner and move the duck breasts to the “off” side of the grill, skin side down. Cook for 10 minutes over indirect heat. Flip the breasts again and cook for another 4 minutes. It is okay to have the duck a little pink in the middle, but you do not want it dripping blood.
5. Remove the breasts from the grill, cover with tinfoil and let stand for 5 minutes.

Duck Gravy

1. While your duck is resting, snag as much of the drippings as you can, if there is not enough fat content you can add bacon grease from that amazing bacon we made a couple weeks back, or butter. Stir in flour a little at a time until you have a thick paste.
2. Add half of the chicken stock to your paste and mix well. Slowly bring the mixture to a simmer and reduce until you have a gravy that is the perfect thickness. If you need more gravy than what this made, add the rest of the stock a little at a time so that it remains thick. You can also add the stock, a little at a time, if the gravy becomes too thick.

I cooked this entire meal out of order. I began by grilling the duck breast, that should have taken 20 minutes, tops, then while I made the risotto, the duck got cold and needed reheating. Not to mention that it was a tad undercooked, so when I tried to reheat it, the duck went rubbery. Plus there was a phone call in there, and I didn’t even get any photos of the cooking process! Needless to say, I have learned from this.

On the bright side. I enjoyed the Freestyle grill I was using, and the duck from my favorite butcher, Country Meat Cuts in Utopia, was very tasty and perfectly prepared…until I cooked it. It was a very interesting flavour, for one who has not eaten duck before, I really enjoyed the flavour. I will definitely make this again.

Happy Grilling!