Wood-fired duck breast (magret de canard au feu de bois)

I stumbled across a cute little wine bar on a cold Sunday evening, just across the road from my hotel. The bar was playing old soul classic hits on vinyl, and serving boutique wines from the Loire region. Just when I thought this place couldn’t get any better, the owner marinates some duck breasts then grills them over the open fireplace. I don’t find places like this very often – a very special experience. The combination of great music, wine, fire, warmth and smoky duck was just perfect.

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 4 large duck breast fillets
• 8 roasted potatoes
• 2 heads baby cos lettuce

Marinade

• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 60 ml (¼ cup) red wine
• 2 sprigs thyme
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground espelette or hot paprika
• 2 star anise, crushed
• 2 x 10 cm cinnamon sticks, crushed

Marinating time 2 hours

Instructions

Combine marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add duck breast fillets. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours, to marinate.

In a wood-fired oven, burn the firewood down to embers. Remove duck from marinade, allowing excess to drain away. Place duck in a grill rack. Cook, skin side down, for 8 minutes. Turn and cook for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with potatoes and cos lettuce salad.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.