This American-style grilled wild duck breast turns lean, gamey duck into juicy, steak-like strips with big backyard flavor. A quick Worcestershire, garlic, and hot sauce marinade adds zip, while the grill brings smoke and char. With simple steps for marinating, setting up the grill, and checking doneness, this recipe is dialed in for hunters and beginners who want wild duck that’s tender, savory, and never dried out.
Grilled Wild Duck Breast Recipe
A fast Worcestershire, garlic, and hot sauce marinade adds punch while keeping the duck moist. Clear grill directions show you how to preheat, manage flare-ups, and pull the meat at a medium-rare style temperature so the duck comes off smoky, tender, and never dried out, perfect for hunters or anyone new to wild game.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
Marinate the Wild Duck
- Lay the duck breast halves on a cutting board and pat them dry on all sides with paper towels so the marinade sticks well.
- Use a sharp knife to trim off any silver skin or very tough bits from the duck breasts on the cutting board so they cook evenly.
- Add ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp minced garlic, ½ tsp hot sauce, ¼ tsp black pepper, and ½ tsp salt to a large mixing bowl using measuring cups and measuring spoons.
- Stir the marinade with a spoon until it looks smooth and the garlic is spread out, then drop the duck breasts into the bowl.
- Toss the duck around in the marinade with the spoon until every piece is coated, then cover the bowl and chill it in the fridge for about 1 hour.
Prep the Grill
- Clean your grill grates with a grill brush, then set up the grill for medium-high heat, leaving one side a little cooler if you can.
- Light the grill following your grill’s controls, then close the lid and let it preheat until the grates feel hot when you carefully hold your hand near them.
- Pour a little oil onto a folded paper towel, hold it with grill tongs, and wipe the hot grates so the duck is less likely to stick.
Grill the Duck Breasts
- Take the mixing bowl out of the fridge, then lift the duck breasts out of the marinade with grill tongs, letting extra liquid drip back into the bowl.
- Lay the duck breasts on the hot side of the grill grates using grill tongs, spacing them out so air can move around each piece.
- Grill the duck for a few minutes on the first side with the lid closed until you see good grill marks and the edges start to look cooked.
- Flip each duck breast over with grill tongs, then keep grilling with the lid closed until the outside looks nicely browned.
- Move the duck breasts to the cooler side of the grill with grill tongs and insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of one breast to check the internal temperature.
- Keep grilling on the cooler side until the thermometer reads about 135°F for medium-rare or up to 150°F if you like it more done, then move the duck to a clean plate with grill tongs.
Rest and Serve
- Let the grilled duck breasts rest on the plate for about 5 to 10 minutes so the juices settle before slicing.
- Transfer the rested duck breasts to a cutting board, then slice them across the grain into strips using a sharp knife.
- Spoon cooked potatoes or rice onto serving plates using a spoon, lay the sliced duck on top, and sprinkle chopped parsley over everything for color.
Notes
- Wild duck is lean, so pulling it off the grill around medium-rare with a meat thermometer helps keep it juicy instead of dry.
- If your grill flares up from any fat or marinade drips, slide the duck over to the cooler side with grill tongs until the flames calm down.
- You can bump the heat a little at the end for extra char, just watch closely so the garlic in the marinade does not burn.
