Duck Duck Goose! (Minus the Goose)



Matt felt like eating something a bit different last night, and we are big duck lovers and hadn't cooked it at home before, so he picked up a whole duck and I set to work on it.

As you can see below- You can use every part of the duck. I won't go through the process of deboning, you can YouTube that if you like. But I will let you know what you can use all the parts for...

Frankenquacker!
1. The Neck; The skin is awesome for making duck neck sausage- use the skin as a casing, fill it with mince (pork and veal is good, meat from the duck is good too), aromatics, apple, nuts and breadcrumbs, then sew up the ends and bake it or confit it. The delicious flavours of the duck will infuse the meat-yumm! The actual neck is good for adding flavour to soups and stocks... As well as giving to your dog to eat (which is what I'll be doing!) just make sure its not cooked if you do that!
2. The Wings; Not too much meat on those bad boys, but you can still cook them as you would cook chicken wings, marinate and bake them.
3. The breast.. I'll be posting a recipe either today or tomorrow for duck breast salad. Best way to eat breast is by marinating it, then cooking it skin-side down for 20 minutes on medium-low heat to gradually render out the thick layer of fat over the meat. The skin should crisp up making the entire thing edible. Seal the other side for 5-10 minutes or so, then leave to rest for a further 10 minutes. The flesh should be pink and juicy and the skin crispy. Yummy!
4. The Bones (frame); Obviously perfect for duck stock; roast the bones first for a brown stock and then reduce it down to make a thick, rich duck sauce. Or make a soup- your choice!
5. The Legs; We all know that the traditional way to eat the tough leg meat is to confit them... Follow my recipe!
6. The Fat; Trim the bits of skin and fat away from the carcass and then put them in a pot on a low heat for 45 minutes or so to render it down; you should then have some tissue left floating in a golden liquid fat-this is what you'll be confitting your legs in, as well as cooking the best ever roast potatoes!!!

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