Jalapeño Duck Poppers
I stumbled across this recipe from a TV show and decided to add my own spin to it for a different flavor profile and a true first attempt at preparing this special wild game.
Ingredients:
Duck breast (filleted) Fresh Jalapeño Cream cheese White onion Garlic powder Bacon thin sliced Italian dressing Season salt Black pepper
I started with cleaned fresh duck breasts and placed them in a salt water brine for 24 hours.
After removing from the salt water bath, I've washed them in fresh cold water. Drained and placed in Italian salad dressing. Marinate for 6-8 hours. I fillet a pocket into the breast prior to marinating.
I thin sliced white onion and set aside. I cut fresh jalapeño into 1/4s and remove all the seeds. You can leave these in if you like the extra heat. I'm making this for my kids to sample so the seeds are gone this time around.
Assemble each duck breast with the following:
Add cream cheese into the pocket along with a 1/4 of jalapeño, thin slice of onion and garlic powder. I also added season salt and pepper the interior to taste. Take 2 thin strips of bacon and fold your duck breast together. Wrap and skewer to keep each duck popper together. Repeat until you've completed all your poppers.
On the BBQ. Heat your BBQ up to operating temp. I then turned one side to low and placed the duck poppers onto the low temp side of the grill. Cook your poppers with the low heat side of the grill until the bacon is cooked, turning frequently. I treated these the same way as I prepare any wild lean meat for the grill.
Remove your duck poppers and cover them with tin foil. Let stand 10 minutes.
These make great appetizers or a main course served over a bed of mushroom rice.
It's safe to say I'll be back out in the wild to get more of these delicious birds in the very near future!