Geo wrote:"bwwwaaahhhhahahahahah!" in such clarity that Gary would faint away.

Geo's kick a man when he's down taunting caused me to both seek therapy and expand and intensify my Duck Hunt. After a WF Deerfield fly-over I finally found frozen duck breast at Elegance in Meats, Northbrook. Would have preferred fresh, but must admit this was some damn tasty duck.

Grilled on a two-stage fire with lump charcoal and wee bit of pecan wood.

Duck Breast on Weber Kettle


Duck breast, sauteed ramps, wild rice w/dried cranberries and pecans


Still on the hunt for fresh duck breast, but at least the wail of Geo's haunting taunt has subsided.

Enjoy,
Gary

Elegance in Meats
3135 Dundee Rd.
Northbrook, IL
847-480-6328

OhOhOhOhOhOhhhh. Looks just too awfully good Gary! Made me jealous, you did: I still haven't dug my Weber out of the snow. (Note to self: Dig Weber Out of the Snow.)

But that's not to say I don't have a riposte of sorts. My buddy Jean and I went to a foie gras farm last Summer, where I picked up all sorts of things, including a really nice packet of gizzards. Saddie aft/eve I made a Thai curry with those doods, right out of the freezer. Yum! Thai spices and the cocoanut milk flavors/texture really seem to go well with gizzards.

But still. Your spread looks great Gary! Bien fait!

Geo

PS. Good luck in your on-going duck hunt.

Saw some frozen ducks looking lonely at Strack and Van Til this weekend. Didn't buy one cause they said "May contain up to 5%" added liquid or what have you. My question is, has anyone tried these frozen ducks? Are they ok in a pinch or not worth it?

The cheftestants on "Top Chef" apparently got dozens of fresh duck breasts & legs from WF on Halsted,

LTH,

Finally made it to Harrison's Poultry, fresh whole duck for $2.39, which, if my math is correct, is $2.60 per lb less than Fox and Obel. Frozen duck, breast and leg/thigh, were fairly priced as well, I stocked up.



Decided to give my WSM a rest and broke out the New Braufels Bandera.

NB Bandera


Made a slightly amped up 5-spice rub.





And ran the Bandera hot and fast.



Terrific straight from the cooker, though I wouldn't kick the leftovers out of bed for quacking.



Smoked Duck Triple Decker w/tomato and red onion



Enjoy,
Gary

Harrison's Poultry
1201 Waukegan Rd
Glenview, IL 60025
847-724-0132

Wow, that looks incredible, Gary.

Glad Harrison's came through. It's nice when the old-time places one has relied on for decades still prove to be reliable.

You've inspired me now. Maybe I'll try some duck this summer on my own smoker.

Thanks for sharing. It really does look delectable.

Great stuff, Gary. Harrison's has always been my go-to place for fresh duck and I'm glad to see they still carry it because credible sources of information had suggested otherwise.

Nice to see the Bandera, too. You've inspired me to fire up my offset this weekend, weather permitting, of course

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Harrison's has always been my go-to place for fresh duck and I'm glad to see they still carry it because credible sources of information had suggested otherwise.

The thing that inspired this thread in the first place was my ill fated search for fresh duck that included a stop at Harrison's. On that ill fated day, they had no fresh duck, only frozen and led me to believe that was a permanant condition. I'm glad to hear that the situation has been remedied! Harrison's is now back in my rotation. That's some good looking duck, Gary.

I want to be Gary's neighbor. That duck looks fantastic.

stevez wrote:The thing that inspired this thread in the first place was my ill fated search for fresh duck that included a stop at Harrison's. On that ill fated day, they had no fresh duck, only frozen and led me to believe that was a permanant condition. I'm glad to hear that the situation has been remedied! Harrison's is now back in my rotation. That's some good looking duck, Gary.

Is it a seasonal thing, like lamb? Maybe they have wild bursts of fresh duck and frozen the rest of the year. I've never actually paid attention, as I usually call ahead, and they have whatever I ask for when I arrive.

I also wonder if you can't order stuff from local ethnic places. When I've needed goat, I just called my local ethnic grocer, and he's ordered it for me. There are a lot of ethnic recipes that use duck, so maybe they'd order that, too. Just a thought. Harrison's has awesome quality, but if it's not convenient, it might be worth it to phone a nearby purveyor, at least for emergencies.

Picked up some fresh duck wings from an asian market on Dundee Rd just east of Rand, they were so cheap I couldn't help myself. Thought I'd try to cook them but having difficulty finding a recipe for just the wings, so I'm thinking of making a stock. Suggestions on how to do that? Just like making a chicken stock? Thanks for any help.

sujormik wrote:Picked up some fresh duck wings from an asian market on Dundee Rd just east of Rand, they were so cheap I couldn't help myself. Thought I'd try to cook them but having difficulty finding a recipe for just the wings, so I'm thinking of making a stock. Suggestions on how to do that? Just like making a chicken stock? Thanks for any help.

Was it Tian Lai? (Just says "Asian Market" on the overhead sign, but says "Tian Lai" on the door -- in a strip mall with a Para Sushi right next door)?

I can't help but think duck wings would be nice to roast and just crunch on.

There's not much meat on a duck wing, so something like confiting it wouldn't make much sense. Cynthia's right: there's lots of skin which would crisp up beautifully if you wanted to make hot wings à la canard!

Making a stock would be duck soup. So to say. Brown the wings under the broiler, then use your cleaver or scissors (heh-heh I use grape pruners!) to cut them up into lots of pieces. The idea is to extract the maximum amount of gelatin etc from the wings, of which there is gobs. Throw in a few carrots, couple onions, maybe a stalk of celery, and simmer all day. Voila! (or, rather, "Wallah!" as my Kansas City students write it : ) you've got a nice rich stock.

It's all good!

Geo

sujormik wrote:Picked up some fresh duck wings from an asian market on Dundee Rd just east of Rand, they were so cheap I couldn't help myself. Thought I'd try to cook them but having difficulty finding a recipe for just the wings, so I'm thinking of making a stock.

Old Town Social has an interesting take on duck wing drumettes, braised then, I am assuming, painted with harissa and baked. Flavor was terrific, though duck flesh a little mushy from overcooking.

Duck wings, Harissa, Cucumber-Mint Raita



Stock is a good idea, but if the duck wings were cheap enough, and it sounds as if they are, I'd buy a mess of them and experiment, starting with steam/spice/deep fry or braise/spice/bake. I'd separate the wings into three pieces and save the tips for stock.

Enjoy,
Gary

Sunset in Libertyville has fresh duck, $3.99/lb. Pretty sure it is Bell & Evans. To clarify here and w/r/to a comment I made in another thread, it appears that the only two brands of fresh poultry at the Libertyville Sunset are Bell & Evans and Amish Farms.

I've got a pair of ducks thawing for Memorial Day smoking on my WSM.
Based on what I've read here, wiviott.com and the Virtual Bullet site, I'll spatchcock, cook mostly breast-up without a water bowl.
I can't conceive of letting all that wonderful liquid gold just melt and flare up on the coals.
If I put a pan beneath with, say potatoes or other root veg, I would think I could get some smoky, ducky deliciousness.

Has anyone tried something like this?

If I put a pan beneath with, say potatoes or other root veg, I would think I could get some smoky, ducky deliciousness.

I've roasted potatoes under a chicken on a rotisserie grill. It's fabulous! I buy foil pans from the dollar store for easy clean up.

So yesterday I cut two ducks in half a la "Low and Slow" lesson 1, marinated overnight in orange and sweet lime juice, soy, ginger, scallions, sugar and salt, air dried for a few hours, then dusted with chimayo chile and five spice before a three hour smoke with an empty (foil-lined) water pan.

Birds were delicious, but kinda tough, especially the skin on the wings and legs. Did I cook too long (there was a fairly large amount of shrinkage), or too short (before the connective tissue broke down)? The breast meat was well rendered, and generally easier to eat.

The last hour, I put a foil pan with a head of cauliflower under the ducks. It had been sprinkled with rub, and absorbed a little bit of duck drippings (not too much since the birds were in a ring around the edge and it was in the middle). It could have gone longer, but was nicely smoky and spicy.

JoelF wrote:So yesterday I cut two ducks in half a la "Low and Slow" lesson 1, marinated overnight in orange and sweet lime juice, soy, ginger, scallions, sugar and salt, air dried for a few hours, then dusted with chimayo chile and five spice before a three hour smoke with an empty (foil-lined) water pan.

Birds were delicious, but kinda tough, especially the skin on the wings and legs. Did I cook too long (there was a fairly large amount of shrinkage), or too short (before the connective tissue broke down)? The breast meat was well rendered, and generally easier to eat.

That does seem kind of long to me.

"I've got a pair of ducks thawing for Memorial Day smoking on my WSM."

I have found that the ducks sold whole frozen are on the low end of the quality chain.
I disassemble, render the skin for cracklings and duck fat, use the wings, leg/thighs for slow braising and prepare the breasts rare. The breasts are OK but I find that a larger fresh duck provides better breasts, for that I go to John's Live Poultry. The aged breasts from Hudson Valley are the best I can obtain. I believe Hudson Valley uses a different breed than the 'Long Island Duck' found frozen in most stores.
I have not tried to smoke these ducks.
I wonder where Sun Wah gets their ducks, or maybe its just the way they prepare them but their BBQ'd duck is very tasty!-Dick

budrichard wrote:The aged breasts from Hudson Valley are the best I can obtain. I believe Hudson Valley uses a different breed than the 'Long Island Duck' found frozen in most stores.

Correct. Moullard duck.

Another post on here claims that Standard Market in Westmont sells duck.

Found myself near Harrison's Poultry in Glenview today, which meant Duck. Bought a couple of breasts and two really nice looking legs. Spice, Weber Kettle, quinoa with grapes, pickled radish/raisin topped with spiced almonds. Made for a nice meal.

click on image to enlarge



Duck, count me a Fan!

G Wiv wrote:Found myself near Harrison's Poultry in Glenview today, which meant Duck. Bought a couple of breasts and two really nice looking legs. Spice, Weber Kettle, quinoa with grapes, pickled radish/raisin topped with spiced almonds. Made for a nice meal.

Looks great and our friend would have loved it. I don't think I've ever grilled raw duck legs before. How was the tenderness?

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Looks great and our friend would have loved it. I don't think I've ever grilled raw duck legs before. How was the tenderness?

Yes, hard not to think of Steve when duck comes up.

Scored, spiced then two staged grilled the duck breast and legs. Breast could have been a smidgen rarer, legs perfect. Legs went longer than the breasts, rare duck leg/thigh is chewy. I go about 130° breast, 160° leg/thigh. Good long rest, longer than I would chicken.

I've done a lot of duck leg/thigh, Harrison's is my go-to and they were beautiful today. Leg/thigh fresh, duck breast frozen (Culver's) . One time at Barn I did 100 duck leg/thigh smoked confit then finished on the flattop for a Pitmaster dinner.

Wheattoast wrote:Saw some frozen ducks looking lonely at Strack and Van Til this weekend.

Saw some frozen ducks at Aldi the other day

Costco run (niles) today, spotted frozen Maple Leaf duck breast. Duck breast two times in a week, Wowzers.

Click on image to enlarge




Duck breast, count me a Fan!

Digging on the Maple Leaf Farms duck breast from Costco, went for another pair. Pan cooked duck breast with Quinoa loaded with crunchy pickled bits, grapes and spiced pan toasted almonds = dinner.

click on image to enlarge


Duck breast, count me a Fan!

I've found ducks (frozen) at Woodman's and at Fresh Farms. But I was making a South American dish that involved stewing them, so not the problem mentioned above with tough or flavorless. Got whole ducks, but noticed really nice-looking duck breasts, from a different vendor, that I'm considering trying--but not sure how those might turn out. So if you don't need a really world-class duck for confit or sauté, there are places that sell them.

HI,

I bought a mature duck for $1.69 per pound last week. It appears it is ideal for confit. I think I will wait for Thanksgiving to pass before giving it a shot.

Regards,
Cathy2