Chinese Five Spice Grilled Duck Breast

I often order peking duck at Chinese restaurants and love it but I've always shyed away from making it at home. For some reason I had this notion that it was difficult to prepare but man was I wrong. Thanks to my husband for forcing me to be adventurous, firing up the grill and searching through countless recipes only to come up with our own in the end. This duck is amazingly tender and succulent and the flavours are outstanding.

I ended up making my own five spice powder and I cannot express in words how fabulously aromatic the mixture was. Overall, it saddens me slightly that I haven't made duck before but with the success of the outcome of this recipe, that will surely change in the future.

Recipe:
1 large duck breast
1 cup sake
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup rice vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons Chinese five spice
1" knob fresh ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 scallion finely chopped

Directions:
1. Begin by using a very sharp knife and slicing through the skin on the breast just until you reach the meat (don't cut through the meat) in a criss-cross pattern. Depending on the size of your duck breast this will likely be 3 cuts in one direction and 3 cuts in the criss-cross direction.
2. Mix the remaining ingredients together, making sure to dissolve the honey, in a resealable container that is large enough to hold the duck breast. Place the duck breast in the marinade, skin side down, flip the breast coating the whole breast, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours but ideally 5-6 hours.
3. Preheat the grill to medium-high
4. Remove the duck from the marinade and thoroughly pat dry. Place the duck on the hot grill skin side down. Cook the duck 6-7 minutes or until the fat side is crispy brown. Flip the duck and cook another 5 minutes or until the duck is cooked through (about 130 F if using a meat thermometer). Remove from the grill, cover loosely with foil and allow the duck to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

*Optional:
While the duck is grilling, strain the marinade and place the liquid in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer on high for 1 minute. Reduce the temperature to a medium simmer and reduce the liquid until it becomes a thick sauce-like consistency. Serve drizzled over the sliced duck.