I often complain about wild duck. Joe likes it fine, but to
me, it's bloody and gamey and makes my nose curl whenever I eat it. I guess
it's to each his own, but I was very determined to like it-- some way, somehow.
If prepared correctly, I think anything can taste good.
Wild duck is extremely dark, as you can see in the photo to
your right. The color is almost purple or blue and this is due to the fact that
ducks are very bloody. To get rid of the "gamey" taste, you have to
try to leech out as much blood as you can. In the photo above, the duck has
been brined for 3 days, leaving a very light exterior and a beautiful ruby red
color inside. We've tried brining before, but it made the duck really salty. So
this time around, we used a combination of a light salty brine and just cold
water. We also extended the brining time, because it does takes more than a day
to get all that blood out. When it came around time to cook, Joe said,
"Wild duck-- the other white meat!" The meat no longer smelled and
tasted "gamey." You don't have to brine for 3 whole days, like we
did. I think 2 days will do just fine. It also depends on your own taste.
Ingredients: Should be enough brine for the breasts
of 2 ducks
- 4 cups of water
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
1. In a saucepan, bring water to a boil. Then add kosher
salt and brown sugar. Mix until dissolved. Turn off heat and allow brine to
cool.
Our duck breasts were cut up into big chunks. You can do the
same or keep them whole.
2. Move the breasts to a nonreactive bowl.
3. Submerge the duck breasts with cooled brine, covering
completely. It is important that you let the brine cool completely. Adding
hot/warm brine will ruin your meat and encourage bacterial growth.
Cover and store in the refrigerator. Brine overnight and replace the bloody brine with ice water the next day.
Cover and store in the refrigerator. Brine overnight and replace the bloody brine with ice water the next day.
3. Submerge the duck breasts with cooled brine, covering
completely. It is important that you let the brine cool completely. Adding
hot/warm brine will ruin your meat and encourage bacterial growth.
Cover and store in the refrigerator. Brine overnight and replace the bloody brine with ice water the next day.
Cover and store in the refrigerator. Brine overnight and replace the bloody brine with ice water the next day.
