Duck recipes needed

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I'm butchering ducks for the first time & plan to skin them like I do the chickens. Can they be cooked the same as chicken (stewed, in soups, etc) or are there special cooking requirements for duck? I won't be roasting them because they are too old (about 8 months).

Thanks & God bless!

-- Bonnie (stichart@plix.com), November 05, 2001

Answers

I'm not a big duck fan, but I soaked mine in milk for 24 hrs, then marinated a whole day and grilled them. We skin everything, too, since we don't need all the fat, and it takes no time to dress them.

8 months isn't too old to roast, just put it in an oven bag or under foil, and it should do fine. If you got to allrecipes.com, you can find tons of recipes for duck. Ducks Unlimited also has some fine recipes.

-- Wendy A (phillips-anteswe@pendleton.usmc.mil), November 05, 2001.


Bonnie,

Duck is one o my favorites. I cook it in many different ways. A few things to remember about duck. First is that Wendy is right, 8 months old isn't to old to roast. Another thing, if you haven't cooked with duck before, is that it is all dark meat. Sometimes the legs on ducks (and most game birds) gets kind of tough. That shouldn't be a problem with your fairly young ones though. For roasting, I like to cut a head or two of garlic in half and stuff it into the cavity along with a couple of halved or quartered lemons. Season generously on the outside with salt and pepper and roast in a 375 or 400 degree oven until done. I also usually put the duck on a bed of chopped up carrots, onions and celery in the roasting pan.

You can use duck the same way you would chicken. One of my favorite ways to cook duck is to get 2 courses out of the birds. I separate the duck into parts and make a nice stock out of the carcass, wings and legs. I then pick the leg and wing meat and make a nice soup. I then saute the duck breasts in a little butter or olive oil. I often brush the breasts with a little Dijon mustard and crushed garlic before sauteing. Tastes wonderful.

I hope you enjoy the ducks. If you have other questions about cooking them, feel free to ask.

-- Murray in ME (lkdmfarm@megalink.net), November 05, 2001.


Hello Bonnie, If you chose to roast them, I recommend that you glaze them with orange marmalade. Glaze them about fifteen minutes before you take the out of the oven. If you glaze them too soon, the glaze will burn. If you stew or make soup out of them, I would recommend that you let the soup cool before eating and skim the fat off, as ducks have a lot more fat than chicken. Then reheat the stew or soup before eating. Sincerely, Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), November 05, 2001.

If you're skinning the ducks instead of plucking them that means you're throwing away the feathers and particularly the down. Are you sure you want to do that?

Ducks tend to be fattier than chickens, so you may want to take that into consideration when cooking - at least it would make roasting a skinned bird an easier proposition.

Duck feet and tongues are a Chinese delicacy. Now, I'm not saying that you should go quite that way, but a lot of what people throw away at least makes marvellous soup. Liver, of course, should be used for pate. Now, I'm talking from general pultry experience here - I haven't done ducks in quantity. However, it raises some points to think about. Hearts and giblets I'd tend to mince/grind and use in soup. I'd at least try the tongues for the same if they were big enough to be worth the trouble. And I'd assess the feet and bills for boiling for soup. You do know that the BEST chicken soup is made from chicken feet, don't you? Parboil for a few minutes, then skin and discard the outer skin, nails, and outside layer of spurs; then make soup from the remains - ultra-concentrated, delicious.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), November 05, 2001.


Don, you are only the second person I know who makes a chicken soup from the feet. The only other person was my aunt who cooked for the bishop and she was a nun. If you printed the ingredents maybe someone would try it and enjoy it. It make a delicous soup, only funny thing is seeing the feet floating in the soup.

-- Mary (marwel@microserve.net), November 05, 2001.


Thanks for all the help. I'll probably make soup tomorrow & save the breasts for a special occasion.

Don, I'm not throwing away ANYTHING. It's against my religion! Someone told me I could salt the skins to preserve them with the feathers, so I'm trying that. But with the extra fat sticking to the skin I don't know if it will work as well as it does with chicken skins. A fisherman I know told me the feathers would be great for fly tying. Anyone have any ideas for marketing feathers?

God bless,

Bonnie

-- Bonnie (stichart@plix.com), November 05, 2001.


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