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Step 3: Salt both sides of the breasts and add a little pepper to the non-skin side. Too much pepper will burn.

Step 4: For mallards or similar sized ducks, place skin side down in a COLD pan. Turn the heat to medium/ medium-high and let them cook for 5-7 minutes. Starting with a cold pan allows the fat to render slowly and get a great crisp on the skin.

Step 5: Flip to the non-skin side and cook for 2-4 minutes, depending on the size.

Step 6: Stand each breast up in the skillet, touching each other, and cook the thickest part of the breast for 90 seconds.

Step 7: Remove and let rest for 5-10 minutes.

Step 8: Slice and serve.

This method will give you perfect medium-rare duck and crispy skin. The combination of flavors is exceptional, and it will be hard for you to cook a mallard any other way ever again.

Maple Smoked Duck Breasts

Ducks lend themselves very well to smoking. The fat and skin hold the smoke flavor well and the meat does not dry out. Try this easy way.

Step 1: Thoroughly dry your skin-on puddle duck breasts and remove any pin feathers with a torch or lighter. You can score the skin here or leave it intact.

Step 2: Salt liberally on both sides.

Step 3: Set the smoker to 225-250-degrees, depending on how much time you have.

Step 4: Place the duck breasts on the smoker for 45 minutes.

Step 5: Glaze the breasts with a high-quality maple syrup. High quality matters here, as most cheap syrups will not caramelize the same way.

Step 6: Smoke for an additional 2 hours, glazing the breasts with maple syrup every 30 minutes or.

Step 7: Pull the ducks at a temperature of 130-degrees, let rest, and enjoy. (If you want crispy skin, get a pan ripping hot and put the breasts skin side down for 1-2 minutes).

Ducks are one of the plentiful resources we have each fall in Missouri. Utilize them in the right way, and you will have a culinary delight long after the season has ended.

Ryan Miloshewski