Spicy Duck Mango Salad

This piquant spicy duck salad is perfect for a refreshing, yet filling, summer meal. Feel free to use wild duck or goose breast, but be sure to scale the recipe up or down to suit the size of the breast(s).

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 20 minutes
• Serves: 4
• Also make with: any rare-medium rare waterfowl breast

Ingredients

For the salad:

• 2 duck breasts, skin on
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil or duck fat
• 4 cups garden cress, frisée, watercress, or arugula
• 3 scallions, sliced
• 3 large sprigs of mint, leaves torn into small pieces
• 1/4 cucumber, seeded and sliced
• 1/2 red pepper, sliced
• 1 ripe mango, peeled and sliced

For the dressing:

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon warm water
• 1 tablespoon minced, seeded red chili pepper

Preparation

1. Season duck breasts generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat up the oil in a steel or cast iron pan over medium-low heat. Put the duck breasts in the oil, skin side down and cook for about 15 minutes, letting the fat render out. Flip them over and cook for another couple minutes until a temperature gauge poked into the middle reads 135°F for medium rare. Set onto a cutting board for 15 minutes to rest and cool down.
2. In a large salad bowl, add the cress or lettuce, scallions, mint, cucumber, and peppers.
3. In a small bowl, mix together all of the dressing ingredients until very well combined.
4. Slice the duck breast into thin slices. Divide the lettuce mixture between 4 plates or bowls. Arrange slices of mango and duck evenly on top of each pile of salad. Drizzle the dressing over each plate. Garnish with flaky salt if you’d like and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Check out Adam's website, The Intrepid Eater, for more unique, creative, and innovative wild game recipes to try in your kitchen! 

Want to take your wild game cooking to the next level? Check out the Wild Table section of our blog for more recipes to help make the most of your harvest!