Duck Breast Sandwich

DUCKS ARE THE best tasting gamebirds and lots of fun to hunt. The incoming shots are the easiest; pick up the line of flight, swing through and shoot when you don’t see the bird, making sure you continue to swing. Higher birds require more lead and, with a bit of practice, your dog will have many retrieves.

Yellow-billed duck and red-billed teal are full of flavour. Make sure the skin is crispy and the meat rare; overcooked duck is leathery with an unpalatable livery taste. This recipe can be served as a starter or used to fill a bread roll and serve as a lunch in the veld. n 1 French loaf or similar bread

with a crispy crust

n mayonnaise

n rocket leaves

n coarse salt and black pepper

Slice and lightly toast the bread.

Pluck the breast feathers gently without tearing the skin.

With a sharp, thin-bladed knife cut along the keel ridge (the central blade separating the two breasts) and remove the meat from the bone.

Remove the little tufts of new feathers with a Leatherman or pliers.

Place the breasts skin-side up and cover with a good layer of salt – this is so it crisps when cooking. Wait five minutes then, using the back of a knife, scrape off the salt.

Add a teaspoon of duck fat to a frying pan and when hot, place the breasts skin-side down and fry for 3-5 minutes; flip and fry for a further 1-2 minutes, then stand on the thick side for 30 seconds to brown. Yellow-billed duck breasts are larger and thicker than those of red-billed teal so you may need to adjust the cooking time. Note: less is more.

Remove the meat from the pan and allow it to stand for five minutes.

Slice thinly and place on the toasted bread, together with some rocket leaves, a squeeze of mayonnaise and season with black pepper.