Roast Wild Duck (Teal)

Did you know that the only way you can get a hold of wild duck in this country is by shooting it yourself, or having extraordinarily generous hunter friends who share their bounty? It’s the law. Certain migratory birds can be hunted in season, but not sold.

We were the lucky recipients of some teal ducks recently from our hunting friends Hank and Holly. I’ve never eaten, let alone cooked wild duck, and let me tell you, it is an entirely different experience than working with ducks from the grocery store.

What follows is a loose recipe and several notes on cooking wild duck, for my own benefit so I remember the next time, as well as for anyone else out there who may have the opportunity to cook wild duck. And for any of you who happened to be seasoned duck hunters, please feel free to offer cooking suggestions in the comments.

The first thing to note is that wild ducks aren’t like chickens or turkey that you have to cook until you don’t see pink. Wild duck is best eaten rare. The juices run red, not clear, more like a beautiful juicy red steak. The meat itself is a deep garnet red. It is easy to overcook the meat, like overcooking a pork tenderloin. Except when you overcook duck, the meat tastes game-y, like liver.

The taste of wild duck is highly dependent on where that duck has been feeding. According to the Joy of Cooking, shallow water ducks feeding on local grains, like mallards, widgeons, and teal, can be very succulent, while diving ducks feed on fish, affecting their flavor. Wild ducks are much more flavorful than domesticated ducks, as their muscles are getting a constant work-out, which is also why their flesh is so red. The taste is closer to steak than to chicken.

I experimented with two recipes, one with rosemary in the cavity and a sherry cream sauce, and the other with orange rind in the cavity and an orange juice reduction sauce. We all agreed that the rosemary recipe was great and the orange recipe wasn’t worth repeating. So, here is the recipe we liked, note that there are no set amounts, this recipe is more of a loose guideline than anything else.

Roast Wild Duck (Teal) Recipe

Ingredients

• Wild (not domesticated) whole duck(s), prepped (gutted, head and feet removed, plucked clean of feathers, shot and any bruised areas removed)
• Olive oil
• Coarse salt
• Rosemary
• Onion
• Apple
• Whole Cloves
• Dry Sherry
• Cream

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