Smoked Duck Breast With Easy Cherry Orange Sauce

Duck sometimes gets overlooked in the BBQ world in favor of big, powerful, rich meats like brisket – but, like lamb, lends itself really well to smokey flavors.

If you’ve never tried what I consider to be the Rolls Royce of fowl, then you’re missing out!

In this recipe, I’ll show you how to make a perfect smoked duck breast, plus an easy cherry and orange reduction that cuts through the richness of the duck perfectly

Smoked Duck Breast

Duck breast can easily be overdone and taste dry. But if done right, you get beautiful moist, pink, smokey duck breasts. 

I use a method very similar to a reverse sear, with a higher than usual indirect heat smoke, followed by a quick sear over high heat to render some fat and crisp up the skin.

What you’ll need:

• A smoker capable of both indirect and direct heat, such as a kettle-style grill
• An instant-read thermometer or method of measuring internal temp
• Smoking wood chunks, cherry or pecan are perfect
• Charcoal or heat beads as a heat source
• A cast-iron or heavy bottom skillet
• A sharp knife

What kind of duck to use for this recipe

You could buy a whole duck and debone it (Duck leg confit is amazing, and the broth you can make from a duck carcass is just amazing in an Asian style soup like Pho), but most good butchers and stores will sell duck breasts prepacked.

Ideally, look for duck that is free-range and ethically sourced. I keep poultry (including ducks), and the difference between meat that has free ranged and factory-farmed is incredible.

If you have a farmers market or a farm store close by, speak to them or source there. You’ll thank me later. However, if you cant get farm-raised duck, duck from your local market will still taste incredible.

If that fails, you can get quality duck delivered from online butchers like Crowd Cow.

If you are looking to cook wild duck you’ve hunted I would suggest checking out this guide which goes into more detail on what to do.

How to smoke duck breast

1. Trim any excess fat

Once you’ve got your breasts, they need just a little prep before putting them on the smoker.

Firstly, trim all extra fat that may be left on the duck breast.

Duck is a fatty bird as it is, so it’s fine here to trim any extra (see photo for guidance). You can render that leftover fat to use to make the most amazing roast potatoes later.

2. Score the skin

Next, score the skin and fat diagonally across the breast at about 1/2″ intervals, taking care to just cut through the fat, and not to cut through the meat at all. You shouldn’t be able to see the pink meat under the fat.

3. Season

Next, we need to season the duck breasts.

You can use salt and pepper, or your favorite BBQ rub. I find Chinese Five Spice works brilliantly with duck, and pairs nicely with the sauce I use too.

You only need a light dusting of the five spice, as it can be too strong if you go heavy on it.

4. Prepare your smoker or grill

You’ll want to set your BBQ to a temp of around 375°F-400°F. I tend to find that around a half chimney of charcoal briqutties is sufficient, as the cook time for these is fairly short.

Once you’re ready to put the duck on, you can use your smoking wood chunks. I used pecan this time, but cherry is great too.

Put your wood on at the same time as your duck breasts. The cook time is quite short, so you’ll want to make sure you get maximum smoke flavor into them without overpowering them.

If you like, put your smoking wood chunk on the grill indirect from the heat source to warm it up, and to ensure it ignites cleanly when you put it on the coals, rather than smoldering and causing acrid white smoke.

5. Smoking your duck

When your BBQ is up to temp, it’s time to smoke your duck. Place the breasts on the grill away from direct heat, and add your wood chunk. The breasts should be fat side up.

We will render the fat a little and crisp up the skin later.

Yyour duck will be done fairly quickly – around 20-30 mins to reach a perfect internal temperature of 150°F for medium.

Unlike chicken, which needs to be done to at least 165°F, you can eat duck medium perfectly safely. In fact, it benefits being cooked medium as any more can dry it out.

Check your breasts after around 15 mins, and remove from the heat at around 150°F.

6. Sear the duck breasts

Let them rest for a few minutes, and in the meantime, put a cast iron skillet or heavy-bottomed frypan over the heat with a drizzle of oil.

Once the oil is hot, place the duck breasts skin side down into the pan, and cook for a further couple of minutes until the fat has rendered a little and the skin has crisped up. Be careful, as the fat may smoke quite a lot.

Once you’ve got some color on the skin, remove from the pan and put aside on a plate, and cover with foil to keep warm.

Making the cherry orange sauce (optional)

I use tinned cherries in syrup (I know, I know), but hear me out – using tinned cherries means you don’t have to spend as long cooking them down and reducing the liquid.

Once you’ve taken the duck out from the pan, drain the fat and wipe out the pan with a paper towel. Put back on the heat and add your cherries, with around half of the syrup.

Add half a teaspoon of ginger powder, a teaspoon of brown sugar, half a tablespoon of soy sauce, a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar, and one and a half tablespoons of orange marmalade, and around 1/4 of a cup of port or red wine at a pinch.

Cook this down until it’s thick and syrupy – this should only take a few minutes, but keep stirring to ensure it doesn’t scorch or burn – if you need to take it off the heat, then do so and stir a lot, before it gets sticky.

Duck serving suggestions

Remove the foil from the duck, slice thickly, lay on a plate, and drizzle reduced sauce over the top of the duck breasts.

I like to serve this with asparagus cooked directly over coals, and buttery mashed potatoes if I can be bothered. 

Serve with a deep, dark red wine such as an Australian Shiraz Grenache. 

Cheers, mate.