Wild duck with rhubarb, honey, chilli and star anise

Autumn

Wild duck breasts are a little smaller than their farmed counterparts, but what they lack in size they make up for in character and it’s just lovely to think that these birds have had a truly wild life, with lots of flying and swimming. What’s more, they’ve enjoyed a wholly natural diet. Keep this in mind if you stumble across wild duck breasts, or a whole wild duck for that matter. That said, wild duck isn’t actually in season all year, but good free-range or organic farmed duck will work perfectly in this recipe as well.

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 wild or farmed duck breasts

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the rhubarb sauce

2–3 rhubarb sticks
2 small garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
1 small, medium-hot red chilli, halved, deseeded and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons runny honey
1 star anise, bashed
½ thumb-size piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
50ml (1¾fl oz) apple juice

Method

Begin by making the rhubarb sauce. Slice the rhubarb sticks into 2–3cm (¾–1¼in) pieces. Pop the rhubarb into a medium-sized, heavy-based saucepan with all the other sauce ingredients. Set the pan over a hot fire and bring it up to a gentle simmer. Cook for about 1–2 minutes, or until the rhubarb is beginning to soften. Remove the pan from the heat and place a lid on it the steam will continue to cook the rhubarb.

Season the duck breasts all over with salt and pepper. Lay them skin-side down on the grill. The fire shouldn’t be overly fierce. Let the duck breasts cook relatively gently on this side it helps to soften the fat, rendering and crisping it. After 6–8 minutes, check the duck breasts. The skin should be crisp and golden. Turn the duck and cook on the other side for 4–5 minutes. Remove the duck from the grill and allow it to rest somewhere warm for 10–15 minutes. Slice it thinly across the grain and serve with the rhubarb sauce.

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