Smoked Duck Breast, Mango & Avocado Salad

Soups & Salads, Mains, Gluten-Free, Parties & Potlucks
While this Smoked Duck Breast, Mango & Avocado Salad sounds pretty fancy, it’s only because smoked duck breast makes even the most pedestrian dish sound uppity. Say: Smoked Duck Breast, Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich—see? It adds instant class. In addition to raising the social strata of any dish, smoked duck breast is a quick fix for any dish. Yes, I’m calling Smoked Duck Breast Oatmeal—trend-spotting!
Smoked Duck Breast, Mango & Avocado Salad

Ingredients

  • 2 smoked duck breasts
  • 4 ounces mixed greens
  • 1 large mango, peeled, seeded and cut into small chunks
  • 1 avocado, peeled, halved. seeded and sliced
  • 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into small chunks
  • Jicama peeled and sliced or grated
  • 1 small yellow pepper, seeded and sliced
  • Red cabbage, finely shredded
  • Scallions, shredded or sliced into thin rounds
  • Sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Duck skin cracklings (from the breast)

Directions

  1. Remove the smoked duck breast from it’s packaging, score the skin in both directions making a diamond pattern, being careful not to cut into the breast meat. Place breast, skin side down, in a cold heavy bottomed skillet. Turn on the a medium-low flame and render the fat from the skin until the skin is crispy, about ten minutes. Remove from heat. Cool and save the leftover fat.
  2. Cut the skin from the breast—you may be able to pull it off. Chop the skin into pieces and return it to the pan, stirring periodically to finish crisping and make smoked duck skin cracklings. Smack your own hand to keep from eating them right out of the pan—OK, you can have one. Remove cracklings from the pan. Pour remaining fat in with the duck fat you already saved.
  3. Slice the duck breasts, widthwise into 1/4” slices.
  4. Assemble salad by mixing the greens with the red cabbage and putting them on a platter. Scatter the cucumber, jicama and yellow pepper over the greens.
  5. Place the duck, mango and avocado around the salad, sprinkle on the scallions and the duck cracklings.
  6. Serve the Yuzu, Honey & Lime Vinaigrette on the side.
Total time:
Yield: 6 servings