Smoked Duck Breast with Cinnamon Pears

The combination of the cinnamon pears with the smokiness of the duck makes for strange bedfellows but is just delicious.

Ingredients:

6 cooking pears

2 tablespoons cinnamon powder

1 sheet paperbark* 30cm square

4 duck breasts

4 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons sea salt

1 teaspoon coarsely ground native pepper

Coriander – garnish

Chilli – garnish

Method

Prepare duck breasts in advance. Coat duck breasts with sugar, salt and pepper and place in a sealed container or plastic bag. Refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours to allow flavours to develop.

Peel pears, leaving the stalks on. Place in a large plastic bag with cinnamon and shake until all pears are thickly coated. Stand on a baking sheet and place in an oven at 200˚. Bake until the pears are tender enough to pierce easily with a skewer. Remove from oven and cool.

Dampen bark and tear into 5 or 6 pieces and place in the bottom of a large pot, wok or camp oven. Place a wire rack (cake rack) on top of bark. Place the duck breasts skin side down on the rack. Put the lid on the pot and place on a high flame. This will start to smoke fairly quickly. Give the breasts 10 minutes of smoking then remove. Leaving the duck to smoke too long can give the duck a bitter taste. Let the duck breasts stand.

To serve place the breasts skin down in a hot pan until the skin is crisp and the meat is cooked to the degree you prefer. Turn over briefly then remove from pan.

Rest for 5 minutes before slicing the breast across the grain in 1cm slices. Serve on with Green Paw Paw and Bamboo Shoot Salad scattered with slices of the Cinnamon Pears.

Garnish with Coriander and sliced chilli.

* Paperbark can be purchased through native food specialists such as Cedar Creek Farm Bush Foods unless of course you have a paperbark tree in your garden. If unavailable use smoking wood chips available from camping stores and BBQ specialists and follow smoking instructions on the packet.