About Duck

It seems that everything on the exotic margins of our tastes are described a tasting like chicken: Frog's legs, catfish, rabbit, even iguana has been described to me as tasting like chicken. Funny then that NOBODY says that duck tastes like chicken even though it is by far more closely related to chicken than a frog, a rabbit or an iguana. Duck makes chicken taste like it has traded all its flavor for tenderness in a Faustian bargain. Indeed, despite the fact that duckduck has been domesticated, it hasnt hqad the flavor bred out of it in an attempt to have tenderness bred in as chicken has. If chicken has become the "Wonder Bread" of domestic fowl, then duck is the pumpernickel rye.

Duck is for some people a rare treat, for very few a common meal, and for most an exotic meat they might have eaten once or twice, if at all. It appears regularly on menus at Chinese restaurants (they have wonderful ways with duck, and I know of no cuisine that similarly exalts in this fine waterfowl) and there is usually a dish or two on any resturant that even purports to be French. Other than that, it is a rare find indeed apart from a couple of carcasses stuck in next to the turkeys in the deep freezer at the local grocery store. Costing nearly twice as much as chicken, you can understand why.

Detracters of duck cry foul over the the unctious, toothsome dark meat more than the unmistakable flavor, which is more fittingly described as "feral" than "gamey." True, there is no white meat on a duck, and it is a bit chewier and greasier than turkey dark meat, but greasy in a good way. Probably the greatest attributes duck has are its fat and skin. In these figure-trimming, calorie counting day of ours, having great fat is a mixed blessing. The famous "Peking Duck," a Cantonese classic, is all about the crispy skin, which is served along with the meat on wheat crepes with plum sauce. Confit of duck, or meat preserved in its own fat, is another classic preparation originating in France, where rendered duck fat (and goose, for that matter) are often used like butter, spread on toast for a hearty snack.

Recipes

Duck in Red Wine Sauce
Duck with Blackberry Sauce

Duck in Red Wine Sauce (Craig Claiborne, NY Times, June 1979)

2 oven-ready ducks, 5-6 lb. each
1/3 cup coarsely chopped shallots
1/2 bay leaf
2 sprigs parsley
1 bottle burgundy
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup flour
1/2 clove garlic
3/4 cup chopped onions
1 Tbs. butter

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove and discard excess fat from ducks and season with salt and pepper. Roast whole ducks, back side down, in oven for 30 minutes. Remove, pour off fat, and return for 30 more minutes.
Remove, and when cool enough to handle, carve into leg/thigh and breast pieces.
Heat butter in casserole or Dutch oven and sauté onion, shallots, garlic and parsley. Add chopped duck carcass and neck bones and cook 10 minutes, stirring often. Sprinkle mixture with flour and stir until well coated.
Add wine and broth and bring to boil, stirring to incorporate the flour. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook, uncovered, about one hour. Strain the reduced sauce over the duck pieces and simmer gently, covered, about 30 minutes.

Serve with buttered wild rice.

Duck with Blackberry Sauce (serves 4)

I culled this from somewhere- maybe the New York Times, I forget. The original recipe came with the following epigram: "Here's a great main course from the Post Hotel at Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. If you can't find boneless duck breasts, buy two whole ducks, and ask the butcher to remove the breasts for you. Freeze the leg and thigh meat to use at another time. Partner this with green beans for a colorful presentation. "

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
1 1/4 cups frozen blackberries, thawed
1 1/4 cups canned beef broth
1/2 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
2 tablespoons Cognac or brandy
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
4 5- to 6-ounce duck breast halves with skin
Additional blackberries (optional)

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sugar; stir until sugar dissolves and mixture turns deep amber color, about 5 minutes. Add wine, orange juice and vinegar (mixture will bubble vigorously) and bring to boil, stirring to dissolve caramel.
Add 1 1/4 cups berries and both broths and boil until sauce thickens and is reduced to about 1 cup, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes. Strain sauce through sieve into heavy small saucepan, pressing on berries with back of spoon. Mix in Cognac and maple syrup. Set sauce aside. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)
Preheat oven to 400°F. Trim any excess fat from duck breasts. Cut three 4-inch-long by 1/16-inch-deep lengthwise slits in skin (not meat) of duck. Season duck with salt and pepper. Heat heavy large ovenproof skillet over high heat until hot. Add duck, skin side down, and sear until brown, about 5 minutes. Turn over; cook 3 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven; continue cooking to desired doneness, about 3 minutes for medium.
Meanwhile, bring sauce to simmer over low heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter and whisk just until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spoon sauce onto plates. Slice duck and place atop sauce. Garnish with additional berries, if desired, and serve.

Duck 3

3/4 cup unsulphered molasses
1/2 cup pure olive oil
1/2 cup red wine
2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 shallot, minced

Combine ingredients in a bowl. Pour into a zip lock bag and add chicken.
Marinate overnight and grill.
*Note: Serve with Honey Mustard Barbeque Sauce

Duck 4

Duck 5
Adapted from Mai Pham's "Pleasures of the Vietnamese Tables"

Duck 6

Duck 7