What the duck!!!!!

I like ducks, they swim in ponds and my kids feed them bread. I’ve had shredded duck a few times from the takeaway but I’ve never even considered trying wild duck so when my friend shot a few, I jumped at the chance.

I was grateful to receive a Golden Eye and a Mallard, the latter had flown into a fence as it plummeted from the sky so I had no other option but to use the breasts….poor wee duck.

Yet again I spent my evening plucking and removing the breasts from a feathered friends, something which I find quite enjoyable and sounds weird to say out loud. Is it weird to take pride in what I consider to be the ultimate food prep?

I had no idea how to cook these so a quick search of the interweb ( How to Cook Wild Duck) and I found the following recipe on the Taste of Game website. It’s an Asian style dish and whilst my Golden Eye duck was juicy and full of flavour it would appear that the wild Mallard was not as nice and had a very strong after taste. It turns out my wife no longer likes duck having politely tried the Mallard.

If you don’t have duck then you could really supplement it with pheasant or any game bird and dare I say it, you could even try it with chicken (skin on).

So that’s it really. It’s Friday night and I’m about to prepare some fresh Wood Pigeon. I’m off to the farmers market for some more treats on Sunday but for now, please enjoy the recipe below.

Cheers

Keith

RECIPE

Pan Fried Duck Breast

Ingredients

• 4 mallard duck breast
• 90 grams honey
• 150 ml dark soy sauce
• 2 pieces glace stem ginger
• 100 grams glass noodles dry weight
• 4 spring onions finely sliced
• 1 red pepper finely sliced
• 2 fresh red chillies to make 500 ml of sweet chilli sauce
• 1 litre white wine vinegar
• 3 dessert spoons honey oil

Instructions

1. Take the mallard and with a sharp knife score the skin finely. In a bowl place the honey, soy sauce and finely chopped glace stem ginger. Mix this well and pour into a shallow dish. Lay the duck breasts into the soy marinade skin side down, then cover and leave in fridge overnight. The next day turn them over and so they marinate on the other side for an hour or two.
2. To make the sweet chilli sauce: Cut the chillies in half and remove the seeds, slice into very thin strips and then chop finely. Add some oil to the pan. When the oil is hot, quickly stir fry the chillies until the oil turns a reddish colour, then add white wine vinegar, bring to the boil and add the honey.
3. Allow to reduce by half. The sauce should have thickened slightly so that it just coats the back of the spoon. When it goes cold it will become a lot thicker so do not reduce it too much. Allow the sauce to cool. (it can be stored in a clean jar or bottle and refrigerated for up to 2 weeks)
4. Take the noodles, place them in a bowl and pour over enough boiling water to cover and leave for 5 to 8 minutes to soften then drain. Once the duck has marinated, pat dry and place in a cold non-stick frying pan fat side down. As the pan gets hot the fat will render down and the skin will crisp up. When it browns, turn the duck over and seal on the other side.
5. Cook for 4 minutes on the other side, then remove form the pan and allow to rest for 4 minutes. In the same pan fry off the red pepper for 5 minutes then add the spring onion and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add 50 ml of sweet chilli sauce and the noodles and saute well. Place a portion of noodles on the plate, thinly slice the duck then lay it on the noodles and enjoy.