Yakitori de le Canard 鴨ささみで焼き鳥

Last time we had duck tenders as a cutlet, we said we will make Yakitori using the duck tenders (a.k.a. “Yakitori de le canard” 鴨焼き鳥). Finally we managed to do it. I thought about how to prepare it and decided to marinate it and then cook it in the toaster oven. Since it is duck, and Japanese generally think “kamo” or duck goes well with “negi” or onion more precisely Japanese “tokyo” scallion I also served grilled onion. (digression alert *). Since we recently got some really good green beans (which doesn’t happen all that  often), I also added blanched green beans on the side. The combination worked well and “Yakitori de le canard” was a great success (Picture #1).

* The Japanese expression is “鴨がネギを背負ってくる” meaning “duck flies in with onion on its back”. This expression is used when something fortuitous happens in your favor with little or no effort on your part. Or (if you are a conman) it refers to the perfect victim coming to you with money outstretched in their hand.

Ingredients (2 small serving of 4 duck tenders per serving)
8 Duck tenders
One medium onion cut into small wedges
2 tbs Ponzu soy sauce (from the bottle or equal mixture of citrus juice and soy sauce)
2 tbs sake

Directions:
Mix the sake and ponzu in a ziploc bag, place the duck tenders inside and remove as much air as possible and let it marinate overnight in the refridgerator.
Drain the marinade and pat the surface of the tenders dry
Skewer the tenders using a bamboo skewer (picture #2)
Skewer the onion wedges (picture #2)

Line the toaster oven tray with an aluminum sheet. Place the tenders and onion on a metal grate over the sheet and broil the duck tenders and onion 5-7 minutes per-side turning once until done (picture #3).

This was a good “yakitori”. The marinade (sake and ponzu) made the duck meat very tender and flavorful. I may have over cooked it a bit and the meat was lightly dry. the sweet onion went well with the duck. Next time, I can skip the skewering and  cook it in a frying pan.