Duck season ended in Arkansas at the end of January. If you were fortunate enough to bag a few, your a lucky person. If you’re like me, you are always looking for different ways to prepare dishes. You came to to the right place.
Today, I am sharing two ways to use all of the duck meat, not just the prized breast. The first is a recipe for a dish that I have shared many variations, Duck Jambalaya. The second uses my favorite carbohydrate, Duck Fettuccini. So come out of your duck blind, and Let’s head to the kitchen!
Duck Jambalaya
Jambalaya has been one of my favorite dishes since I was young. There was something about the way my mother prepared her Sausage Jambalaya that made me make sure I was first at the table. Here’s a version with duck, which is just as tasty.
1/4 cup Clarified butter
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
3 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 fresh duck ( about 5 pounds), skinned and boned
3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 cup paprika
2 28-ounce cans tomatoes, including liquid
2 cups beef or duck stock
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 bunch green onions, coarsely chopped
Salt to taste
3 cups long-grain rice
Melt butter in a heavy thick-bottomed pot. Add vegetables and garlic, and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Cut the duck meat into large dice and add to the vegetables, along with bay leaves and thyme. Cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes. Add paprika and stir thoroughly to mix with other ingredients. Add tomatoes, stock, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce and mix well. Lower heat, cover, and cook until duck is tender, about 1 hour longer.
Half an hour before serving time, add green onions and bring liquid to a boil. Adjust salt and make sure there is enough liquid to cook the rice - at least 4 cups. Stir in rice and cook over low heat for 30 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.
Duck Fettuccini
If duck fettuccini is offered on a restaurant menu, I’m only passing it up for a roasted duck. Just like jambalaya, you can use whatever you have on hand to enhance this dish. It’s a great way to use the leg and thigh meat of a duck.
6 cups duck meat
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
8 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
4 tomatoes. peeled, seeded, and diced
2 cups coarsely chopped green onions
8 large fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
2 cups beef or duck stock
1 pound fettuccine, cooked al dente and rinsed
Melt butter in a large sauté pan or skillet. Add garlic, tomatoes, green onions, mushrooms, Creole seasoning, and duck meat. Stir gently over low heat until vegetables are wilted. Add stock, bring to a boil, and simmer until liquid is reduced by about a third.
Add the cooked noodles and bring sauce back to a simmer, spooning the sauce constantly over the noodles until they are heated through and have finished cooking. They should be steaming hot but still slightly al dente. Serve immediately.
Everyone will want to ask, how does duck compare to chicken. As far as flavor, duck has an earthier, gamier flavor. Due to its high fat content, duck is more tender. It actually has more nutrients than chicken and less calories, making it healthier for you. If you don’t want any troubles with your doctor about your diet, switching to duck can help keep things from going fowl.
