This divinely rich Smoked Steakhouse Duck Breast Sandwich is exactly what you’d expect to find at a 5-star restaurant or trendy upscale bar in Chicago, New York, or L.A.! Medium-rare slices of melt-in-your-mouth, smoked duck breast meat that tastes like tender filet mignon, with garlic butter and white wine sweet red peppers, crimini mushrooms & onions, topped with rich, melty, double-cream Amish brie cheese, crisp-cooked peppered duck bacon, all piled onto a bed of fresh baby spinach leaves! And a garlic butter-toasted, split-top roll nicely slathered with homemade sour cream & horseradish sauce completes this absolute masterpiece! There’s even au jus for dipping! Does life get any better?

 

 

 

Welcome to Day 3 of #CookoutWeek! This is a fantastic summer event that’s organized and owned by the amazing Allison, of The PinterTest Kitchen, and runs from June 25th through Saturday, June 30! For this event, bloggers from around the world have all gotten together to provide recipes for you, that you can be proud to take to any event you have going on this summer!

Independence Day, family reunions, graduation parties, get-togethers with friends, a romantic evening with the one you love, or just for the family on a sunny, summer afternoon! And yep!! There’s an awesome #Giveaway, too, that you can enter to win!! (*Be sure to enter below!!)

 

Here’s what one lucky winner
will receive from
this year’s Sponsors!

• Char-Broil Classic 280 2-Burner Liquid Propane Gas Grill from blog hosts The PinterTest Kitchen. This grill has 280 square inches of cooking space over porcelain-coated grates and two 12-inch side shelves for extra prep space.
• A Red KitchenAid Mixer and 5 Flavored Butters from our friends at Chef Shamy. Make the World a Butter Place® with Chef Shamy! The winner will receive Garlic Butter, Cinnamon Brown Sugar Honey Butter, Vanilla Bean Honey Butter, Strawberry Honey Butter, and French Onion Butter with Asiago Cheese to use in your favorite cookout recipes. And if you just can’t wait, use 10BUTTER10 starting today to get 10% off your Chef Shamy butter order on Amazon. These butters contain no oil, and the savory butters are perfect for keto recipes.
• A Duck Product Pack from our friends at Maple Leaf Farms consisting of 2 pkgs All Natural Boneless Duck Breasts (7.5 oz), 2 pkgs Fully Cooked Roast Half Ducks w/Orange Sauce (14 oz), 1 pkg Duck Bacon (12 oz), and 1 pkg All Natural Duck Legs (16 oz). Maple Leaf Farms is celebrating its 60th anniversary raising White Pekin ducks on local, family-owned farms.
• Butter-flavored Organic Coconut Oil from our friends at Barlean’s. This dairy free option offers all the healthy benefits of organic coconut oil, with the rich taste of butter. It’s great on toast, popcorn, baked potatoes, or cooked vegetables. You can also substitute it 1:1 for butter in baking, cooking, and frying, and of course it is perfect as a butter substitute for all your favorite cookout recipes.
• 24 Cartons of Vinegar Shots from our friends at Vermont Village. You’ll receive 12 cartons of turmeric flavor and 12 cartons of cranberry flavor. Each carton contains 12 individual, 1 fluid ounce vinegar shot pouches! This raw, organic apple cider vinegar has rich flavors from whole foods and is sweetened naturally with honey.

That’s a prize pack worth over $750!

 

 

So, for my third recipe, I was graciously sent several cuts of farm-raised duck from one of our fantastic sponsors, a company located near my old stomping grounds back in Indiana, the Maple Leaf Farms® company! What a wonderful surprise that was! When I was told that I was going to be receiving their product, I almost fainted. (I think I cried a little.)

After reading up on all of this year’s sponsors before we were even sent any product, I was dreaming of being chosen to try their exquisite duck products!

The Maple Leaf Farms® company, located near Milford, Indiana, (not far from where I lived for many years in Valparaiso and LaPorte!), is proudly celebrating their 60th Anniversary this year! 60 years in business is no small accomplishment!

Though the company was started in 1958 by Donald Wentzel, Don actually started working with ducks by raising them on his father-in-law’s duck farm when he was just in high school! And after starting his own company, his business grew into a world-class organization!

They are now the leading producer of quality duck products in North America, producing more than 10 million ducks each year with the help of 1,000 employees, and 150 partner, local, family-owned farms! Their duck and chicken products are sold to markets in all 50 U.S. states and 40 export regions! Wow, right?!!

And they are now a fourth-generation company, and their story is truly heartwarming! (If you’d like read about it, and I highly recommend that you do, please click here!)

 

Now you see why I wanted to make something extra special for these guys! And that I certainly did! (I have to admit, though, I was really nervous as I have never cooked duck before!) But don’t you be! Just follow my directions and you’ll be fine! It was actually very easy!!

I had a difficult time deciding which cut of meat I wanted to showcase for them, as they all looked so wonderful!! But finally, I decided upon the duck breasts! And I’m thrilled over the results! Quite proud of my little self, truth be told!!

I simply started them in a simple brine of 1 cup of apple juice and 1 tablespoon of kosher salt, and brined them overnight in a glass bread pan in the fridge.

 

 

 

 

After rinsing them well, patting them dry, and scoring just the skin so that the fat directly below would melt away while cooking….

 

 

….I applied a variation of my own seasoning rub that I mostly use for my Prime Rib. Which ended up marrying beautifully with the duck breasts!

 

 

 

They then went into the preheated smoker using apple wood chips! After doing some serious homework on how to cook duck breast meat, I found that most everyone prefers this cut to be cooked to medium-rare to medium. So I only smoked them until their internal temperature reached 135ºF.

 

 

 

 

After resting, the internal temperature of the duck breasts rose just enough that meat was pure perfection! *In a smoker pre-heated to 225º, this will only take about 45 minutes to one hour. Be sure to use a probe thermometer to monitor the internal temperature of the breast meat so that you don’t overcook it. *Which, including heating up the smoker, gives you plenty of time to bake the bacon, (which I peppered first),…

 

 

 

….then baked in the oven!

 

 

 

 

Next, you’ll sauté the sweet red cubanelle peppers, along with some crimini mushrooms and white onions in some olive oil, butter, fresh garlic, and white wine….

 

 

 

 

….and whip up my classic sour cream & horseradish sauce!

 

 

 

 

Once your duck breasts are cooked to your preference, let them rest. The juices will need to settle back down before you slice them.

 

 

 

 

While they’re resting, butter the insides of your rolls with your favorite garlic and herb butter, and run them under the broiler to toast.

 

 

 

 

Top the bottom roll with fresh baby spinach leaves….

 

 

 

 

…then your prized, smoked duck breast!  Slice the tender, juicy meat on a severe bias for maximum tenderness and coverage on your sandwich.

 

 

 

 

And lay the slices nicely on top of the bed of spinach leaves.   *And by the way, just a note! This duck was delightfully juicy and not a BIT greasy!! It was AMAZING!!! Quite a WOW moment for someone like me who has never had duck before!!

 

 

 

 

Add your sautéed vegetables, (reheating them just a bit if need be).

 

 

 

 

Next is another element of my (already incredible!) sandwich, a few generous slices of Amish double-cream brie! I mean, because, if you’re going to go for it, then go big or go home, right?!

 

 

 

 

 

What would a sandwich be without some ooey-gooey, melty cheese, anyway?!

 

 

 

 

And brie is the perfect, mild & quick-melting cheese for these sandwiches so that you don’t overcook the duck slices while under the broiler, and it’s creamy mildness won’t overpower the duck’s delicate flavor.

 

 

 

 

 

Next comes the duck bacon!!! *You can place the strips between two paper towels and pop it into the microwave on high for 5 – 8 seconds, until you hear sizzling, to reheat them quickly if they’ve cooled down too much.

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly, don’t forget to slather the top bun with my cool and creamy sour cream & horseradish sauce!

 

 

 

 

Then just take a sec, if you can wait even that long to look at the masterpiece you just made, because, really….is this not a gorgeous, sexy, over-the-top sandwich or what?! Pat yourself on the back, because this sandwich will do you proudly!

 

 

 

 

And though there are more than a few elements to this baby, it’s SO EASY to make!! And it sliced like a dream and was non-messy to eat!

Good thing, because you want every last MORSEL in your tummy and not in your lap!

 

 

 

 

 

I’m stunned by how well this turned out!! I can truly call it a masterpiece, and any company you serve this to would be in awe! And it was simple and easy to make, really!! This Smoked Steakhouse Duck Breast Sandwich will be remembered and dreamt of whenever I’m craving or needing something special!

Do be sure to save my recipe, and share it on your social medias, because this sandwich is truly spectacular! And my hubby fully agreed!  Hope you all enjoy!!

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

Thank you so much for including me, Allison! I’ve been having a blast, and I’m sure everyone is enjoying all of the creative recipes! Just amazing! And thank you to all of the generous sponsors! Your products have been over the top! *Be sure to follow Maple Leaf Farms® on all of their Social Medias to keep up with their latest recipes, news, and promotions here! Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook!

~ All of the Bloggers who have Participated
in this Year’s #CookoutWeek 2018! ~

The PinterTest Kitchen ♥ 2 Cookin Mamas ♥ A Day in the Life on the Farm ♥ A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures ♥ April GoLightly ♥ Authentically Candace ♥ Blogghetti ♥ Body Rebooted ♥ Bottom Left of the Mitten ♥ Cheese Curd In Paradise ♥ Chef Sarah Elizabeth ♥ Coconut & Lime ♥ Cookaholic Wife ♥ CookwithRenu ♥ Daily Dish Recipes ♥ Everyday EileenFairyburger ♥ Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice ♥ Family Around the Table ♥ Fix Me a Little Lunch ♥ For the Love of Food ♥ Frankly Entertaining ♥ Frugal & Fit ♥ Get the Good Stuff! ♥ Hardly A Goddess ♥ Herbivore Cucina ♥ Join Us, Pull up a Chair ♥ Jolene’s Recipe Journal ♥ Jonesin’ For Taste ♥ Karen’s Kitchen Stories ♥ Kelly Lynn’s Sweets & Treats ♥ Mildly Meandering ♥ Moore or Less Cooking ♥ Our Good Life ♥ Oven Tales By Syama ♥ Palatable Pastime ♥ Sarah Cooks the Books ♥ Savory Moments ♥ Seduction In The Kitchen ♥ Strawberry Blondie Kitchen ♥ Sweet Coralice ♥ Tampa Cake Girl ♥ Technotini ♥ That Recipe ♥ The Baking Fairy ♥ The Beard and The Baker ♥ The Freshman Cook ♥ The Simple Supper ♥ The Spiffy Cookie ♥ The Weekday Gourmet ♥ This is How I Cook ♥ Who Needs A Cape? ♥ Wildflour’s Cottage Kitchen

~ Today’s Recipes Provided for You by Bloggers from Around the World! ~

*Though we were sent product to try, this is not a personally sponsored post. Any and all opinions of this product are solely my own.

 

Yield: 2 hoagie sandwiches (2 - 4 servings)

Smoked Steakhouse Duck Breast Sandwich #CookoutWeek

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Ingredients

For Duck:

• 2 boneless duck breasts, brined then skin scored
• 1 cup apple juice + 1 Tbl. kosher salt (*for brine)
• 1 Tbl. wasabi powder, (also called "green horseradish powder")
• 1 Tbl. quality garlic powder
• 1/2 Tbl. coarse ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. ground rosemary
• 1/2 tsp. dried Herbs de Provence
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. Kosher salt
• 2 small slices soft butter (about 1 Tbl. total)

Rest of Sandwich Ingredients:

• 2 Tbl. butter
• 1 sweet red pepper such as cubanelle or bell
• 1 medium sweet onion
• 8 oz. fresh crimini mushrooms, halved
• 2 Tbl. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• splash or two of white wine (I used 1 Tbl. but you can add a little more if you like)
• salt & pepper to taste
• 4 long slices slices of double-cream brie cheese
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese, or as desired
• 4 slices slices of peppered and oven-baked duck bacon
• 2 long hoagie rolls
• garlic herb butter (for insides of rolls)
• 2 handfuls of baby spinach leaves
• beef au jus for dipping (I used canned consommé, warmed with a little garlic herb butter), optional

For Sour Cream Horseradish Sauce:

• 1/3 cup thick sour cream
• 1 1/2 Tbl. prepared extra hot horseradish
• 1/8 tsp. worcestershire sauce
• 1/16 tsp. each kosher salt & coarse ground black pepper, or to taste

Instructions

The day before, in small bowl or glass bread pan, add apple juice and salt and stir until salt melts. Add duck breasts, making sure they are fully submerged (add a little water if not), and refrigerate overnight.

In small bowl, stir together Sour Cream Horseradish Sauce ingredients until combined, cover, and chill until needed.

Prepare smoker and get heated and smoking at a temp of 225ºF. *Keeping rack to cook duck on out of smoker.

In small bowl, mix together well the seasonings for the duck. Cut shallow slashes diagonally, both ways, across the top skin-side of each duck breast to create cross-hatch marks, but not slicing into the meat. Pat on duck seasoning coating all sides well. Pat on all of it, or as much will stay on. Some may fall off, but it's ok. Place onto smoker rack placed over a baking sheet, skin side up. Pop into fridge, uncovered.

Once smoker is heated and the apple chips are smoking, place temperature probes into duck breasts, place into smoker, and cook until internal temperature reaches 130ºF for rare/medium rare. (135º is ok, for medium-rare.) *This should only take about 45 minutes to one hour depending on your smoker or grill. Remove, lightly butter tops with very soft or melted butter, and loosely tent with foil to let rest while you finish up preparing and assembling your sandwiches.

*While duck breasts are smoking, in small sauté pan, add butter, olive oil, red pepper, mushrooms, and onions. Sauté until golden. Add garlic and white wine, and sauté a few minutes longer. Set aside.

And also bake your duck bacon. Don't worry. You have more than plenty of time. Preheat oven to 375ºF, place the strips onto a rack placed over a foil-lined baking sheet, and bake them for 20 minutes. (I peppered mine first on top.) Remove, turn the slices over and pepper again, and bake for 5 - 10 minutes longer until done. Remove and set aside on paper towels as you normally would any bacon.

Lastly, heat oven to broil, butter insides of rolls, place onto a foil-lined baking sheet and run under the broiler until toasted. Place baby spinach leaves on top of bottom roll. Thinly slice the smoked and rested duck breasts on a severe bias for maximum surface area and lay on top of spinach leaves. Top with rewarmed sautéed vegetables. Top with slices of brie. Run under broiler, (toasted tops set aside), just until brie is mostly melted. (It will continue to melt after removing from oven.)

Top with cooked duck bacon. Slather inside of top rolls with sour cream-horseradish sauce and place on top. Slice sandwich in half on the bias, and enjoy with a nice glass of chilled, white wine!

*Sandwiches can be served with warmed au jus on the side for dipping & dunking if desired.