- © 2024 Annapolis Home Magazine
- All Rights Reserved
Story & Photography by Christine Fillat
Lucky be the Marylander who lives on the water. It is possible to sustain yourself on what you can pluck from the water or shoot out of the sky. Teens Ryker and Finn Chase have been trained by their father, John, in the art of hunting. They tend trotlines and sluff crabs in the summer and shoot waterfowl in the winter. They gather enough of what the Chesapeake offers to fill their freezer. This is truly living close to the land. But how to prepare these breasts of Mallard or Canvasback? Ryker and Finn’s mother Taryn coats the meat with a spicy rich basting sauce and quickly grills the duck until the meat plumps.
Ingredients (for two duck breasts)
• 4 tablespoons of butter
• 4 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 6–8 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
• 4–6 dashes of Crystal (or Tabasco) sauce
• 4–6 cloves of fresh crushed garlic
• Celery salt to taste
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 2–3 tablespoons lemon juice
Melt the butter and add the remaining ingredients to the saucepan. Simmer on low heat and be careful not to let the sauce boil.
Place the duck breasts on a pre-heated grill and baste with the sauce. Turn the meat after five minutes, then baste and cook the other side. Grill the duck breasts until they plump up. Total grilling time should not be more than 15 minutes. Do not overcook the duck! They should be kept moist.
Serve immediately with basting sauce on the side. Serves two.
Taryn, John, Ryker and Finn Chase live on Crab Alley on the Eastern Shore. The boys have grown up hunting and fishing their whole lives.
Christine Fillat lives on the Magothy River and is an aficionado of Chesapeake Bay cooking and living.
From Vol. 5, No. 2 2014
Annapolis Home Magazine