Grilled Duck Breasts in Cherry-Port Sauce

There is not a lot of meat on a duck. You can smoke or grill the whole bird, but when you get down to it, most of it is waste. So the best strategy for duck is to remove the legs and breasts, make cracklins from the remaining skin, render the fat by frying, make stock from the carcass, smoke the legs, and grill the breasts.

The breasts are special, a unique cut and a delicacy prized by those in the know. Duck breasts are a lot like beef or lamb, but there is one spectacular difference: They are covered on one side by a fat layer under the skin. The skin is so delectable that you shouldn’t waste it. Long ago, chefs developed a technique for dealing with the subcutaneous fat layer. They gash the skin right down to the muscle and sear the breast in a frying pan so the fat will melt and run into the pan and fry the skin crisp. Then they flip it and sear the back side and serve the meat medium-rare to medium, in the 135°F range. This can make a real mess of the kitchen with spattering and smoke. So here’s how to do it outdoors where you don’t worry about smoke and spattering.

Makes 2 servings

Takes 3 hours to dry brine, 20 minutes to prepare the breasts, 40 minutes to cook them

1. Prep. With the breasts skin side up, gently draw the knife across the skin of each one, cutting through the fat (see photo, right). Make parallel cuts every ¾ to 1 inch. Make similar perpendicular cuts so you have squares of skin still attached to the breast. These will act as drains to allow the fat to run off during cooking. Salt both sides of the breasts and then sprinkle the rub on both sides. Dry brine the breasts in the fridge for about 3 hours.

2. Fire up. Set up your grill for two-zone cooking. Although you will probably not need the indirect zone, it’s nice to have a safe zone. Put a heavy pan, a griddle, or a big skillet with ovenproof handles over the direct-heat side and close the lid (do not use nonstick pans over high heat; fumes from the coating can be hazardous). Preheat the pan for at least 10 minutes, until it’s rip-snorting hot.

3. Cook. Place the duck breasts in the hot pan, skin side down. They will pop and sizzle and a lot of fat will render. When the skin is dark brown, flip the breasts over so some of the rendered fat will get on the meat side and sear for about 3 minutes to brown it. Move the meat to the grill grates on the indirect-heat side. When the interior temperature of the breasts is 135°F, medium-rare, about 30 minutes, take them off the heat.

4. While the duck is grilling, pour off the burned duck fat and discard it. Wipe the pan with a paper towel, place it on the indirect side, and melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in the pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until limp. Add the broth, port, vinegar, and cherries. Cook over high heat until the volume has reduced by half. Move the pan to indirect heat and keep the sauce warm until you are ready to serve.

5. Serve. Just before serving, add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the sauce and whisk it in. This is called mounting with butter, a classic French technique that thickens and enriches the sauce at the last minute. Slice the breasts at an angle across the grain—just a little more than ⅛ inch thick—and keep the slices bunched in order. Spoon some sauce onto each of two plates, fan the slices out on top of the sauce, and drizzle a little more on top of the meat.

Notes: Raspberry vinegar is very nice with this as a substitute for balsamic.

Dried cranberries or even raisins can be substituted for the cherries.