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Muscovy Duck


Viola da gamba

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it's just the breed of the duck..............

a muscovy is said to be a little leaner than other ducks, but hey, you can never tell how these things were fed or anything, they might be plenty chubby.....

what did you think, it was like a peking duck, and had a recipe.........

cause that would be pretty cute.......

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It is traditional to serve goose for christmas in german household. Look for german recipes for roast goose.

http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/europe/...achtsgans1.html

the above isn't quite as my Mom makes it. She uses dried fruit. Dried apples and prunes. or any savory type of dried fruit. On occasion she will cook a duck the same way, and it's delicious. Just make sure to remove the rendered fat relatively often.

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We have raised and cooked them ourselves, thay can be as fat or more then a 'regular' duck. They can get quite large, so size will be a consideration. If you have a larger bird then cook it like a goose, allowing for time per lb etc.

Like a goose there is a relatively high ratio of bones to meat, so make plenty of trimmings. :wink:

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it's just the breed of the duck..............

a muscovy is said to be a little leaner than other ducks, but hey, you can never tell how these things were fed or anything, they might be plenty chubby.....

what did you think, it was like a peking duck, and had a recipe.........

cause that would be pretty cute.......

Yeah - thanks - knew that - it's more the size of the thing that's got me concerned. And it's free-range - i.e. will have been killed shortly before we pick it up - so I'm pretty sure what it's been eating, too. But thanks for the suggestion ...

Thanks, Adam & mtigges - I think it's going to be the size of a small goose - so I'll treat it as one - and that recipe looks great!

Edited by Viola da gamba (log)
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another way of cooking a muscovy duck is to bone it,,braise the leg (or confit it) . make a stock and sauce with the bones then pan roast the breasts med rare and serve it that way. the breasts will be nice and moist as opposed to a whole rosted duck. good luck!

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A couple of questions...

Is that the only meat you are serving? And if so, how many do you expect it to serve? For us, a Muscovy duck is a hefty, solid meal for two or three with minimal sides and a nice meal for four with substantial sides.

One thing to consider is the fat. With a turkey, you baste often to add fat for a golden, crunchy exterior. With a duck, you prick the skin often (say, every 15 or 20 minutes), to release the fat from under the skin. It is somewhat self-basting in this respect...

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There's only 3 of us for thanksgiving (so far) - so yes, it will be the only meat. If the number grows, I'll probably do a ham as well (easy, cheap, and good sandwich leftovers). Haven't decided on sides yet - whole other thread - my Dad is desperate for brussels sprouts & I can't stand them - bleah. Thanks for the tip about pricking the skin. I don't think I have time to bone & confit the dam' thing - but I'll keep that in mind for Christmas.

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This is really interesting. I have always wanted to cook a Muscovy duck. A few years ago, the waterfront condo I lived in got overrun with Muscovy ducks. The damn things made ducklings like a duckling factory and they were agressive as hell. They ran off all of our mallards and intimidated my basset hound. Do they taste good and have good duck fat? (Why do I see a midnight duck hunt in my future? :laugh: )

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

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This works for pheasant, try it for ducks. Crack dried corn and soak in whiskey. Put out for ducks. Pick up drunk ducks, put in cages, fatten, prepare and eat. :biggrin::biggrin:

Bruce Frigard

Quality control Taster, Château D'Eau Winery

"Free time is the engine of ingenuity, creativity and innovation"

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

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This works for pheasant, try it for ducks. Crack dried corn and soak in whiskey. Put out for ducks. Pick up drunk ducks, put in cages, fatten, prepare and eat. :biggrin:  :biggrin:

If a drunken duck behaves anything like a drunken bluejay, I'm not sure I'd want to be the person picking 'em up. :laugh:

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This works for pheasant, try it for ducks. Crack dried corn and soak in whiskey. Put out for ducks. Pick up drunk ducks, put in cages, fatten, prepare and eat. :biggrin:  :biggrin:

If a drunken duck behaves anything like a drunken bluejay, I'm not sure I'd want to be the person picking 'em up. :laugh:

They kinda fall over.

:laugh::laugh:

Bruce Frigard

Quality control Taster, Château D'Eau Winery

"Free time is the engine of ingenuity, creativity and innovation"

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

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The following "wet" method melts out all the fat, so you don't have to prick the skin. It works wonderfully on even a very fat goose, let alone a duck.

1 duck, giblets, neck and cavity fat removed

1 large peeled onion

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon caraway seeds

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Cut off the last two wing joints and spread them, the neck, heart and gizzard on the bottom of a roasting pan only slightly larger than the bird. Add 1 quart of water.

3. Rub the bird inside and outside with salt, pepper and caraway seeds, stuff the onion in the cavity and put the bird, untrussed and breast up, on the bed of giblets.

4. Cover and cook until done. Begin checking at 2-1/2 hours. It's done when you can pull the legs in opposite directions and they don't spring back.

5. Pour off the water and fat and return the pan, uncovered, to the oven for 10 minutes to dry and crisp the skin.

Put the fat you removed at the beginning with the poured-off liquid and boil it down down for other uses, including frying up the liver as a reward for the cook.

I'll also put this on the recipe forum.

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Muscovy "ducks" (really not a duck) are very tasty, and they seem to have a bigger breast muscle then the Long Island ducklings I've bought and they're less fatty, at least the free range ones we're eating. I convection roasted one after salting it and letting it dry out for a couple of days in the fridge. The legs and breast were great, the thighs were a little tough, the wings are going into a braised white bean dish of a sorts tonight. I got about 1/4 cup of rendered fat. This was a huge dude, 7 lbs, and fed two people twice, and I assume at least twice more.

I made roasted fingerling potatoes and chanterelles to serve with it, if you live in an area where there are plentiful (and cheap) wild mushrooms, I recommend it, it went well with the duck. In a pinch you could go with cultivated shrooms. I cut the fingerlings in half, left most of the mushrooms whole, tossed with a mixture of olive oil, grey shallots, garlic and time, liberally salted and peppered and roasted for around 30 min at 400 F.

regards,

trillium

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Thanks everyone! We're picking it up tomorrow, cooking it Sunday - apparently it's somewhere between 5 & 1/2 and 9 pounds, depending which one we get - I'll post later re: how it went, what we did, & sides. I know I should be more organised, but we're having guests for dinner tonight & I'm having to get through that first (not a big deal, but I've just found out that the daughter of the guests - who are otherwise lovely people - has become a vegan in the last month. I think I must have been bad in a past life.). the potato & mushroom bake sounds wonderful.

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