Quackers

[Cedarman]

My son Ian got 3 ducks.  My wife says she knows nothing of fixing duck.  I think he has 6 breasts to cook.  Now what is a good way to fix these things? 

[Reddog]

Dusted in flour and seasonings and fried in butter. Don't over cook them. Medium to med/well is about right for me.

[gary]

The first thing is DO NOT cook them until they are well done,should be cooked rare to medium rare. Did he pluck them or skin them? I have never breasted a duck I ussually cook the whole duck. If skinned (I don't pluck any birds) I put ckicken skin or bacon on them useing toothpicks. I put them in an oven bag with a piece or 2 of chicken that i got the skin from. Cook them at 350 for about 30 to 45 minutes probably less time for just the breast. We make an orange sauce for dipping the duck in. I also put some on the ducks for the last few minutes they are cooking.
Orange sauce
1 cup orange juice
1tablespoon corn starch
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3cup brown sugar packed
1 teaspoon orange rind
1/4 teaspoon salt
cook until thick stirring constantly

[Cedarman]

Sunday is going to be the big day.  I had heard that overcooking will turn them into hard rubber.  I can see dipping them in orange sauce could be a good way to eat a lot of good orange sauce.  Lick and dip, lick and dip. :D :D

Thanks for 2 good ways, Reddog and Gary.

[WH_Conley]

Would that be like the the "board recipe", clean em, putem on a board, season to taste, cook, throw duck away and eat the board.

(Disclaimer) I have never cooked a duck, but I have eat a lot of boards, little at atime. :D

[limbrat]

I have a love hate relationship with wild duck. I know a lady that makes the best smothered duck in the world. At my last feeding in my haste i jammed a shot shattered bone between my tooth and my gum (ouch squared).

Smothered duck
Best with skin on to help retain fat.
1/3cp oil in a pot or dutch oven bring it up to heat on top of the stove. Put litely floured pieces of duck in oil and brown on each side. Give it enough room to brown if you got to do a little at a time thats fine. Add 1cp of chopped onoin 1/2cp of chopped bell pepper 3cloves chopped garlic 1/2cp sliced sausage or tasso or bacon to add smokey flavor. Saute untill vegatables are wilted. Add water or chicken broth untill you just cover most of the bird. Bring it to a boil then turn down to a simmer, salt and pepper to taste. Cover the pot and cook about 1.5 hours. Cook it to death cook it till most of the liquid is gone and its falling off the bone. Serve it on rice cornbread is good but it makes it very rich. WATCH FOR THE BONES

Smoked duck
Take the boned (skint) skinned breast and tenderize by poking with a fork of beating with with a hammer. Put remains in a bowl of orange juice to soak over night or about 6 hours. Season water in smoker with soy sauce litely sallt and pepper breast. Smoke breast on medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes or untill tips start to take on rosey color duck should be medium rare. Slice across breast

[WDH]

Take the breasts (you might want to marinate them in something like Italian dressing beforehand) and wrap them in bacon with toothpicks.  Grill them slowly until they are medium rare. 

[Corley5]

Cook the duck in one pan and some bacon in another.  When done throw the duck out and have a BLT  ;) ;D

[LOGDOG]

If you've never tried it in a Gumbo that's something you just have to do. No risk of drying it out. I'm from WI but living in Louisiana for the last 6+ years. Prior to coming here I had never had gumbo. I guess it's just not part of yankee cuisine. Once you have a good gumbo though, you'll definitely want more. Serve it up over some rice or if you're up north some "wild rice" - woo wee! Make ya wanna slap yo' mama!  ;)

LOGDOG

[Dave Shepard]

I've only had duck twice, the first was terrible, and I can't afford any more of the second. :D There is a very nice restaurant in the next town over that is run by the former executive chef to the UN. One of the snowmakers I worked with is a friend of his and he brought a bunch of duck sausage to work one day. digin1 digin_2 digin1


Dave

[sawguy21]

I remember a friend of my dad's stopping by with a couple of ducks early one morning. After Ray left, dad stood in the kitchen and said "Now just what am I supposed to do with these", he was not a fan of wild game but did not want to hurt anyones feelings. Mom cooked one up but we really did not enjoy it, too oily.The other one never made it to the pot.

[gary]

So how were they cooked? Did you like them?

[Cedarman]

We had a party Sat evening and there was too much bbq left over.  so we ate leftovers on Sun.  Looks like next Sunday now.  I have enough info for us to fix some quackers.  Thanks folks.

[Ron Scott]

Some duck species are better tasting than others. The puddle duck species usually taste better than the diving duck species.