Recipe - Grilled Duck Breast With Black Currants

12 Boneless fresh duck breasts;
trimmed
One half cup Olive oil
1 small Orange; cut or sliced up
3 Garlic cloves; crushed
1 tablespoon Fresh thyme; coarsely
chopped
1 tablespoon Fresh sage; coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon Fresh tarragon; coarsely
chopped
1 tablespoon Fresh rosemary; coarsely
chopped
6 Sprigs watercress; (for
garnish)

WILD RICE GRIDDLE CAKES
2 tablespoon Butter
One half Onion; finely chopped
One fourth cup Wild rice; rinsed and
drained
2 Bay leaves
Three fourths cup Water
1 cup All purpose flour
One half teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Sugar
1 lg Egg; beaten
1 One half cup Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 tablespoon Butter; melted
One half cup Clarified butter

MANGO SAUCE
3 Mangoes
1 tablespoon Sugar
One fourth cup Rice wine vinegar
2 cup Demiglace or brown sauce
Salt and ground white pepper

Place duck breasts in a glass or ceramic dish. Combine olive oil, orange,
garlic and herbs and mix well. Pour over breasts, being sure that all are
thoroughly coated. Cover and marinate in refrigerator overnight, turning
the breasts several times. Bring to room temperature before grilling.

With hands, wipe off excess herbs and marinade. Place breasts on grill,
meat side down, and cook 5 minutes. Transfer breasts to cast iron skillet
skin side down and saute on grill for about 5 minutes to render fat from
skin. When fat is rendered, place breasts on grill skin side down for about
1 minute to crisp skin.

Arrange 3 griddle cakes along outer rim of each plate. Ladle some sauce
onto center of plates. Slice duck breasts on the bias and fan out opposite
the griddle cakes. Add 3 mango slices to each plate and garnish with a
sprig of watercress. Serve immediately

Wild Rice Griddle Cakes (Makes about 18)

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in saucepan and saute onion over medium heat
until translucent. Stir in rice, bay leaves, and water. Bring to a boil,
reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until rice is tender, about 35 minutes.
Drain and spread on a baking sheet or platter. Cool in refrigerator.

In a bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar. In another bowl, combine eggs,
milk and vanilla. Whisk together dry and liquid mixtures, adding 2
tablespoons melted butter. If necessary, strain to get a smooth batter.

When rice is cooled, stir into batter.

Place skillet over medium heat and coat bottom with a samll amount of
clarified butter. Ladle in small amounts of batter to make cakes about 2
inches in diameter. Keep warm until needed.

Mango Sauce

Peel the mango vertically, slicing around the pit. Reserve slices in
refrigerator. With paring knife, trim excess fruit from pit. Reserve.

Place the sugar in a 1 quart nonaluminum saucepan and caramelize over
medium heat. Quickly add mango trimmings. Add vinegar and cook 2 minutes.
Add demiglace or brown sauce, bring to boil, lower heat and simmer ten
minutes. Puree in blender or processor in 2 or 3 batches. Add salt and
pepper to taste.

Formatted for MCrecipe by JoAnn Pellegrino 5/98

NOTES : Tim McGrath is chef at the Columbia Bar & Grill, one of Hollywood's
most beautiful places to dine alfresco. This intriguing combination of
grilled duck breast, wild rice griddle cakes and mango is just one example
of Tim's lively and satisfying cuisine.
Recipe by: The Joy of Grilling/Tim McGrath

Posted to MCRecipe Digest by J Pellegrino gigimfg@ix.netcom.com on May
15, 1998