Smoked Duck Breast with Cranberry Relish

If you’re looking for an easy and elegant dish to serve your guests this holiday season, look no further than Smoked Duck Breast with Cranberry Relish. This delicious recipe is simple and features a festive mix of flavors everyone will love. So why not give it a try? Your guests will be impressed!

Duck is one of the more elegant proteins for holiday meals. However, cooking duck, especially outdoors, can be intimidating. Smoking is the most fool-proof way to prepare duck breast.

The first step in making this and any duck breast dish is to score the skin. Scoring means creating a small cross-hatch pattern using a knife in the duck’s skin. This will enable your brine to penetrate more fully and, more importantly, allow the layer of fat between the skin and the meat to render more easily.

Tips to Score Duck Breasts for Smoked Duck Breast

• Don’t cut too deep. You only want to score the duck’s skin and not the meat. This is best done with gentle pressure and a sharp knife.
  
• Always chill the duck before scoring. Cold duck is firmer and is easier to score.
  
• Remember the presentation. While theoretically, you can score the duck skin in any manner that you choose, remember that duck is normally served skin side up, and the scoring will be visible to your guests.

The next step in this recipe is to brine the duck in a mixture of apple juice, Chinese 5 spice, salt, and vinegar. Brining helps to balance the moisture content of the meat and can mellow gamey the flavor. Plan to brine your duck for at least 3 hours or as long as 24 hours.

Steps to Make Smoked Duck Breast

1. Score duck breast and soak in brine for at least 3 hours.
2. Heat the smoker to 250 degrees.
3. Smoke duck breast for 1 hour.
4. In the last 3-5 minutes of the duck smoking, heat a cast iron pan on a camp stove on high heat.
5. Remove duck from the smoker and sear duck in pan for 2-3 minutes.
6. Rest duck for 5 minutes and then thinly slice.
7. Serve warm or cold with pickled cranberry relish.

What truly adds the holiday flair to this dish is the cranberry relish. The tartness of the pickled berry compliments the fattiness of the duck. In spring or summer, substitute the cranberries for pickled blueberries or strawberries.

FAQs

• Do you have suggestions for how to serve this recipe?
  There are many ways to serve this dish. It tastes delicious, served hot as a main course accompanied by a light salad, cold as part of a charcuterie spread with toast points and a little cheese spread… or a combination of the two! Let your creativity reign!
  
• Where can you purchase duck breast?
  My local market in Bend, OR, carries duck in the freezer section. However, if you live in a locale that doesn’t, duck breast can be easily found for purchase online at sites like D’Artagnan and Maple Leaf Farms.
  
• How do you store smoked duck breast?
  Smoked duck breast can be chilled in a cooler or fridge for up to 3 days. Alternatively, you can freeze it and store it for up to 8 weeks.

Looking for more upscale duck recipes for your winter soirees? Check out my recipes for Chinese Smoked Duck Legs with Spicy Green Beans and Citrus-Miso Glazed Duck Breast with Caramelized Persimmon.

4.50 from 2 votes

Smoked Duck Breast with Pickled Cranberry Relish

Servings 4 people

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Brining and Pickling Time 3 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs 25 minutes mins

Equipment

• cheesecloth

Ingredients

For the Duck…

• 2 duck breasts
• 2 cups apple juice
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 1 tsp Chinese 5 spice
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp honey

For the Cranberry Relish…

• 8 juniper berries
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
• 3/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 10 oz fresh cranberries
• 1 1/2 tbsp oil
• 2 shallots minced
• 1 apple peeled and finely chopped

Instructions

• Score the duck breasts. Mix together apple juice, salt, pepper, Chinese 5 spice, vinegar, and honey. Soak the duck breasts in the brine for 3 hours.
• While the duck is in the brine, make a small sachet by tying juniper berries, peppercorns, and thyme in cheesecloth.
• In a small saucepan, combine vinegar and water. Heat the mixture over low heat. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the sachet and cranberries. Remove from heat and chill for 1 hour.
• Drain cranberries, reserving 2 tablespoons of the brining liquid. Discard sachet.
• Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until translucent. Add apples. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Deglaze pan with brining liquid. Stir in cranberries. Remove from heat and let cool.
• Pack cranberry relish in glass jar or jars. Pour pickling liquid over the berries. Store in a cooler or fridge for 3 hours or up to 1 week. Can in water bath canner for longer storage.
• Heat the smoker to 250 degrees. Remove the duck breasts from the brine. Rinse in water and gently pat dry. Smoke duck for 1 hour or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.
• Heat cast iron pan over high heat. Add duck breast and sear skin side down for 2-3 minutes. Remove the duck and let rest for 5 minutes.
• Thinly slice duck breast. Serve with pickled cranberry relish.

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Cabin Life, Game, Special Occasion

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @bewildeats on Instagram and hashtag it #bewildeats.