TanksHill...Roll on!!

[justusnak]

Green hills might get covered in snow over there if I can get enough poeple to help wish it over to yuns.

Im wishin...and blowin! LOL You can have all our snow!

 

[TanksHill]

Bring it on, my kids would love it. All these green hills would be perfect for sledding. That reminds me of when we first bought our property. The hillside was covered in decomposing leaf liter. We took cardboard out and slid on it. My 8 yo nephew had a great time. Neighbors thought we were loony. I bet my snow Frisbee would slide on wet grass... Oh now you got me thinking.

Maybe tomorrow.

 

[TanksHill]

Ok, so how many of you actually cook ducks? ( Aly, double checked for spelling errors. )

I mean I know a ton of you have them but the only one who comes to mind may be Lori???

So this is my dilemma I bought a duck to roast. I thought it would be neat to feed the family a possible Ss staple.

I roasted it stuffed with celery, onions and quartered oranges as the recipe stated. Looked yummy when I took it out of the oven. Then the problems started.

1.... I never thought the dang thing could be so hard to carve. Nothing was in the right spot. And those breast, long and flat. What's up with that?

2..... The excess slippery layer of fat under the skin was a major turn off. Again made carving it a pain in the a@@.

3.... My dh who usually eats the breast while the kids and I prefer dark meat was unsatisfied with his "dark breast".

So, is this normal for a duck? did I do something wrong? Can you cut it up before cooking it kinda like a chicken? I served it with the orange sauce that came with it, rice and a wilted spinach salad. Only 2 out of 5 enjoyed my dinner.

Any advice would be great.

gina

 

[miss_thenorth]

Oh, I hear your misery. i can only sympathize. While I have ducks, they haven't produced for me yet, so I haven't had domestic duck. all my duck cookin' experience has been with wild duck--usually mallard, occasionally black ducks.

i have never been a big fan of duck--it's a texture thing. I think the only way i have ever enjoyed it has been the beer can method.
The ducks I am raising are muscovy,and they are said to taste more like goose, which i do enjoy (wild). hopefully they will taste like canada goose.

for me I found my dislike for duck was more of a texture thing as opposed to flavour.

Hopefully someone that has a better experience with duck will post.

 

[Wifezilla]

I have never roasted a whole duck...only bought parts. I like dark meat so I liked the flavor. As for the fat, ducks do tend to be more fatty BUT the duck's diet can effect that A LOT.

I haven't processed any of my own ducks yet. They are too cute to eat

 

[Farmfresh]

Here I come to save the day.

You did nothing wrong cooking your duck. They are far more fatty than a chicken or turkey. They have all dark meat, which is why white meat eaters like me and your hubby don't really like the breast meat. My hubby LOVES dark meat and thus loves to eat duck. We usually buy/or barter for 6 to 8 Rouen cross ducks a year for our freezer.

We buy our ducks live and after cleaning a few of them I much prefer to skin them. Ducks are very difficult to clean in my opinion. The pin feathers hold on TIGHT. I personally like ducks for their personality and love duck eggs, but I would NEVER raise them to eat myself. Just too much work and too darned messy!

My favorite ways to EAT roasted duck are #1 cooked on the grill with a little sauce of some kind basted on or #2 oven roasted with herbs on a rack sprinkled with herbs. You really need to provide a place for that excess fat to drain away. Also keep the heat moderate, even though they are greasy they can be tough if cooked too fast or on too high of a flame.

Duck eggs are great! Wonderful to cook and bake with. The yolk is much larger than the yolk in a chicken egg, so they make wonderful noodles and custards especially! As a child with a pet Pekin duck, Nipper, I ate one or two duck eggs for breakfast fried with toast and bacon for years!! My duck was unusual in the fact that she laid an egg every 12 to 18 hours. We often got two eggs a day from her and no mistake - she was the only duck we had! Never had an animal like her since. She was pretty much a freak I guess.

 

[Dace]

No help here.....not a duck eater. Not a fan of the greasy heavy strong taste!

 

[Farmfresh]

I also wanted to comment on a really RIGHT thing you did.

You bought a duck to roast and try, BEFORE you decided to raise ducks to eat. It is amazing how many people (self included) decide to grow something before REALLY trying it to see if they like it. I am reminded of my year of 10,000 eggplants (ok not really THAT many). No one in my family likes eggplant - no matter HOW you cook it.

We also have discovered that we all MUCH prefer cows milk to goat milk and really truly LOVE the taste of lamb in this way.

 

[TanksHill]

Thank you guys sooo much for your advice. I actually liked the flavor and had no texture issues. It was the handling and carving where my problems came in. I am sure if I chose to raise ducks for eggs and or meat my family would adapt. I imagine skinning might help with the "slippery" issue. And perhaps instead of roasting I could braise and bake.

FF thank you for your help and encouragement. I told my dh I was going to cook a possum next and see how he liked that. How is roasting a goose compared to duck? Is it dark meat as well? I guess I should stick to turkeys and hens for my family's sake. Sure simplifies things.

gina

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

I do not like roasted duck! (glad you spell checked, Gina!)

My aunt fixed it once for dinner and invited E and me over to eat.

blech!

I only raise ducks for their quirky behaviors and their eggs to eat.

A dead duck is a no good duck. A good duck is alive and laying eggs!