I will walk through step by step how I cooked this meal as well as offer some modifications based on my experience. This was a fairly easy preparation but there are a couple of things that I learned. Lets start with the ingredients
- 2-4 duck breasts (whole or boned)
- bacon
- balsamic vinegar 1/2 cup
- honey 1/4 cup
- stone ground mustard 2 tbsp
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- rosemary 1 tbsp
- thyme 1 tbsp
- basil 1 tbsp
- salt and pepper to taste
Start by combining the balsamic vinegar, honey, mustard, and dry spices. Mix well. Place duck breasts in deep dish and cover with marinade. Let marinate in refrigerator at least 4 hours (overnight is better). Rotate duck every hour or so to ensure even coating of marinade.
Once you remove the duck from the marinade wrap in bacon. Keep the marinade for later. Heat your grill to Medium High heat.
and build an aluminum foil tray that is at least 2 inches deep (heavy duty foil works best). Also the duck will cook better if you let the breasts come up to room temperature before placing on the grill.
Once the duck is at room temperature place the aluminum foil tray on the grill over high heat and pour the remaining marinade in. Once it begins to boil reduce heat under tray to simmer. On the other half of the grill place the duck breasts. Rotate the breasts often to grill all sides. Once the duck is about half way cooked to your desired doneness transfer the breasts to the simmering marinade reserve. Spoon the marinade over the duck breast to evenly coat. The marinade will thicken and coat the breasts. Just before done place the breast back over direct heat to caramelize the marinade and form a sticky glazed finish.
Use reduced marinade and spoon over duck breasts to finish.