Larded Ducks
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Clean and wash the ducks.
Lard the breasts with narrow strips of bacon using a larding needle.
Half roast the ducks.
Make the gravy and stew
In a saucepan, combine the broth, chopped onion, and claret.
Stew for 30 minutes or until tender.
Finish and serve
Dish the ducks and remove the fat from the gravy.
Thicken the gravy.
Boil the gravy.
Pour half of the gravy over the ducks.
Serve the remaining gravy in a separate dish.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Ducks
- Provide the main meat, which stays moist during stewing after partial roasting.
- Bacon
- Adds fat and savory flavor to the lean duck breast as it melts during cooking.
- Broth
- Forms the liquid base of the gravy and carries flavor into the meat.
- Claret
- Adds acidity and wine flavor that balances the richness of the duck and gravy.
- Onion
- Contributes aromatic sweetness and depth to the gravy.
The step that matters
Remove the fat from the gravy. Duck releases a lot of fat while cooking, and leaving it in the gravy makes the sauce greasy and heavy on the palate. Skimming it off before thickening and boiling gives a cleaner, more balanced sauce.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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