Recipe Roasted Wild Duck

ElizabethB

ElizabethB

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Location
Lafayette, LA. US
In the U.S. wild duck can not be sold. You either hunt for yourself or have a friend kind enough to gift you with the bounty of their hunt.
This recipe is not applicable to domestic duck.
Wild duck needs to be treated like beef - cooked rare/medium rare. If wild duck is over cooked the meat is tough and gamy.
I used Teal from a hunt G made last September. Teal is a small, shallow water feeder. Shallow water ducks feed on water vegetation and are very mild. Diving ducks feed on fish and crustaceans. They have a gamier flavor and require different treatment. Allow one bird per person. The two Teal weighed 1 lb 4 oz.
Roasting whole wild duck is a compromise. Crispy skin = over cooked meat. I would rather have the meat cooked properly and sacrifice the crispy skin.

INGREDIENTS

2 Teal - cleaned, pin feathers removed
3 beets with greens
24 seedless red grapes
2 leeks
1 rib celery
1/2 medium onion
EVOO
Sea Salt
Fresh ground pepper
1 TBSP frozen butter cut into small cubes
1 (or two or three) TBSP room temperature butter
1/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup chicken broth

MEETHOD

Heat oven to 475 F (246 C)
Clean the ducks well. Remove the pin feathers, A pair of kitchen tweezers helps.
Dry completely. I had to dry several times inside and out.
Pierce the skin in numerous places with a skewer or the point of a sharp knife. Position the skewer or knife parallel to the body to avoid piercing the meat.
Rub a thin film of EVOO inside and out
Season generously with salt and pepper inside and out
Cut the greens from the beets
Wash well, drain and dry.
Coarsely chop
Slice 12 of the grapes in half lengthwise
Reserve the remaining 12 grapes
In a large bowl toss the cut grapes and beet greens with salt and pepper
Wash and peel beet roots
Cut into small cubes
Wash and cut leeks in 3/4" slices
Small dice celery
Coarse chop onion
Brush the roasting pan with a thin film of EVOO
Place the leeks in the pan cut side up
Scatter the remaining whole grapes and veggies in the pan
Season with salt and pepper
Drizzle with 1 TBSP EVOO
Stuff the ducks with the beet greens and cut grapes tucking in cubes of frozen butter as you stuff (1/2 TBSP per duck)
Place the ducks on top of the veggies breast side up
If you have more green/grape mixture than you need to stuff the ducks scatter over the veggies.
Roast for 15 minutes
Increase heat to broil
Cook for 2 minutes
Turn ducks back side up and broil for 3 minutes
Remove from the oven and transfer ducks to a plate to rest for 10 minutes. Keep warm but DO NOT TENT. I have a warming zone on the cook top. If you have a toaster oven set it to 170 F (76.67 C) to keep the ducks warm.
The veggies will not be done. Transfer to a saute pan
Add 1/4 cup dry white wine and 3/4 cup chicken broth
Bring to a boil
Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes
Veggies will still have texture
If there is too much liquid increase heat to a boil and reduce
Stir in 1 (or two or three) TBSP room temperature butter.

Serve

Ready for the oven

20200718_174644 (2).jpg


Ready to serve

20200718_194122 (2).jpg
 
Last edited:
Very interesting and to me a rather unusual recipe. I like the idea of stuffing the ducks with spinach/grapes.
 
This is a pretty cool recipe. What would happen if this recipe is done with store-bought duck?

Also, I assume that the wild duck has much lower fat content. Is that one reason for stuffing it with ingredients with mild acidity? Does it tenderize the meat?
 
ElizabethB said:
In the U.S. wild duck can not be sold. You either hunt for yourself or have a friend kind enough to gift you with the bounty of their hunt.
This recipe is not applicable to domestic duck.
Wild duck needs to be treated like beef - cooked rare/medium rare. If wild duck is over cooked the meat is tough and gamy.
I used Teal from a hunt G made last September. Teal is a small, shallow water feeder. Shallow water ducks feed on water vegetation and are very mild. Diving ducks feed on fish and crustaceans. They have a gamier flavor and require different treatment. Allow one bird per person. The two Teal weighed 1 lb 4 oz.
Roasting whole wild duck is a compromise. Crispy skin = over cooked meat. I would rather have the meat cooked properly and sacrifice the crispy skin.

INGREDIENTS

2 Teal - cleaned, pin feathers removed
3 beets with greens
24 seedless red grapes
2 leeks
1 rib celery
1/2 medium onion
EVOO
Sea Salt
Fresh ground pepper
1 TBSP frozen butter cut into small cubes
1 (or two or three) TBSP room temperature butter
1/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup chicken broth

MEETHOD

Heat oven to 475 F (246 C)
Clean the ducks well. Remove the pin feathers, A pair of kitchen tweezers helps.
Dry completely. I had to dry several times inside and out.
Pierce the skin in numerous places with a skewer or the point of a sharp knife. Position the skewer or knife parallel to the body to avoid piercing the meat.
Rub a thin film of EVOO inside and out
Season generously with salt and pepper inside and out
Cut the greens from the beets
Wash well, drain and dry.
Coarsely chop
Slice 12 of the grapes in half lengthwise
Reserve the remaining 12 grapes
In a large bowl toss the cut grapes and beet greens with salt and pepper
Wash and peel beet roots
Cut into small cubes
Wash and cut leeks in 3/4" slices
Small dice celery
Coarse chop onion
Brush the roasting pan with a thin film of EVOO
Place the leeks in the pan cut side up
Scatter the remaining whole grapes and veggies in the pan
Season with salt and pepper
Drizzle with 1 TBSP EVOO
Stuff the ducks with the beet greens and cut grapes tucking in cubes of frozen butter as you stuff (1/2 TBSP per duck)
Place the ducks on top of the veggies breast side up
If you have more green/grape mixture than you need to stuff the ducks scatter over the veggies.
Roast for 15 minutes
Increase heat to broil
Cook for 2 minutes
Turn ducks back side up and broil for 3 minutes
Remove from the oven and transfer ducks to a plate to rest for 10 minutes. Keep warm but DO NOT TENT. I have a warming zone on the cook top. If you have a toaster oven set it to 170 F (76.67 C) to keep the ducks warm.
The veggies will not be done. Transfer to a saute pan
Add 1/4 cup dry white wine and 3/4 cup chicken broth
Bring to a boil
Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes
Veggies will still have texture
If there is too much liquid increase heat to a boil and reduce
Stir in 1 (or two or three) TBSP room temperature butter.

Serve

Ready for the oven

View attachment 43569

Ready to serve

View attachment 43570
Click to expand...

So find the lead shot? We aren't allowed lead here now.

Russ
 
rascal said:
So find the lead shot? We aren't allowed lead here now.

Russ
Click to expand...
Steel shot only. G does a good job of removing the shot. I do have to pull the pin feathers.

adventurousbaker said:
This is a pretty cool recipe. What would happen if this recipe is done with store-bought duck?

Also, I assume that the wild duck has much lower fat content. Is that one reason for stuffing it with ingredients with mild acidity? Does it tenderize the meat?
Click to expand...

By the time wild ducks reach the deep south they are fat for their size. They have been feeding heavily on their trip from the north. That is why the skin is pierced. That allows the fat to render out.
I find wild duck much more tender than pheasant. If cooked medium rare the meat is not tough. Over cooking is another story
A whole roasted domestic duck would be cooked much longer. Also the legs are usually removed and reserved for Comfit or cooked longer than the rest of the bird.
IF I were to cook a domestic duck I would remove the breast and cook them crispy skin and medium/medium rare meat. I would use the legs, wings and thighs for Comfit and the rest of the bird for stock.
I also have Mallard in the freezer. It is a larger duck and the legs require a longer cook time than the rest of the bird.
 
Ah, I see. I missed the fact that these are much smaller birds. Upon closer inspection, the ratio of their sizes to that of the grapes indeed makes the size apparent :)
 
Whole roasting wild duck is a challenge. It is much easier to to focus on the breast and use the rest of the duck for other purposes.
 
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