When it comes to waterfowl recipes and eating ducks, I started hunting ducks late in life and until then never really cared for them due to early experiences.

The ducks my mother and grandmother prepared when I was young were roasted for a long time. That resulted in dry table fare that tasted livery and tough.

However, I developed a taste for this wild bird after dining on one that was properly prepared. It was a fat Richfield mallard cooked to perfection by a woman named Betty, the chef at Hartz's Duck Camp near Stuttgart, Ark. What a revelation! The meat is dark and less moist than domestic duck, with a much more pronounced and pleasing flavor.

Here are some tried-and-true recipes from our family cookbook you’re sure to enjoy.

 

Stuttgart Betty’s Roast Ducks Recipe

• Any number of ducks
• Salt
• Baking soda
• Onions
• Green bell peppers
• Celery
• Flour

Salt the ducks to taste, and rub with baking soda. Allow to sit 1 hour, then wash off the soda. Stuff the body cavity of each bird with small chunks of onion, bell pepper and celery, then rub each bird with flour. Place in a large roasting pan with enough water to half cover the ducks. Cook in a 350-degree oven for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until the birds are tender. Remove the vegetable stuffing and discard. Halve each bird lengthwise before serving. If desired, thicken the broth from the ducks with a milk and flour mixture to make gravy. Each duck serves 1 to 2.

Tip: If you absolutely must have your meat cooked well-done, ducks can be covered in bacon, basted and cooked in a covered pan or slow cooker to add moisture that might otherwise be lost. It’s been my experience, however, that wild ducks should always be on the rare side if you want to enjoy the full flavor. Overcooking makes the meat dry, tough and unpalatable. When roasting, allow 20 minutes per pound maximum. When cooking by other methods, remove the ducks from heat while the meat still retains as much pinkness as you can stand.

Rotisserie Ducks Recipe

• 2 ducks
• Salt
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/3 cup plum or crabapple jelly

Rub the cavity of ducks with salt, and place the birds on the rotisserie spit. Set the spit so the revolving birds just clear the fire. Roast and check for doneness in 1 1/2 hours. Brush ducks the last 15 minutes with a mixture of the butter, orange juice and jelly melted together in a pan. Serves 2 to 4.

Tip: When duck roasting, do not to allow the fat to accumulate in the pan. As it melts, the fat should be spooned off and used to baste the bird, the more often the better. By so doing, you render the flesh more tender, and you return the flavor from the pan to the duck.

Grilled Marinated Duck Breasts Recipe

• 3/4 cup Italian salad dressing
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• Juice of 3 lemons
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• Pepper to taste
• 16 boneless duck breast fillets (2 from each duck)
• 16 slices bacon

Combine the first five ingredients, and pour the mixture over the duck breast fillets. Refrigerate at least 3 hours, preferably overnight. Remove duck breasts from marinade, and wrap each in a bacon slice; secure bacon with toothpicks. Grill over slow coals 7 minutes on each side or until bacon is done. Serves 4 to 8.

Papa Schuess’s Duck Roll Appetizers Recipe

• 10 boneless, skinless medium or large duck breast fillets
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 (1.25-oz.) packages taco seasoning mix
• 5 fresh jalapenos, halved and seeded
• 1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese
• 10 green onions
• 20 bacon slices

Marinate duck breasts overnight in the refrigerator in a mixture of the olive oil and taco seasoning. Drain at time of preparation.

Fill each half of jalapeno with cream cheese and place a cut green onion on each. Place the cream cheese side of a jalapeno opposite the skin side of a duck breast. Roll-wrap each breast with 2 bacon slices to cover most of the meat. Secure bacon with toothpicks. Repeat with remaining duck breasts.

Grill 5 to 7 minutes per side over medium heat, just until the meat is medium rare. Transfer to a plate, cover with plastic wrap or foil, and cool in the refrigerator overnight. (Breasts also can be served as a main-course meat right off the grill.) Cut each bacon-wrapped breast crossways into slices about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Arrange on a serving platter. Allow to stand until the pieces reach room temperature.

Serve. Yield: about 36 to 48 pieces.

 

Duck, Sausage and Oyster Gumbo Recipe

•  1 pound sliced okra
• 1/4 cup bacon drippings
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 large white onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 7 cups water
• Cubed breast meat from 2 cooked ducks
• 1 pound smoked sausage, cubed
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1 pint oysters
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• Cooked rice

Cook okra in 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings until tender; set aside. Make a roux by heating the remaining bacon grease and butter in a Dutch oven; stir in flour. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the roux is a caramel color. Add the white onion, bell pepper and celery; cook until onion is clear. Add 3 cups water, the cooked okra, duck meat, sausage, salt, black pepper, green onions, garlic, bay leaf and thyme. Simmer for 2 hours. Add 4 more cups water with the oysters, Worcestershire and Tabasco sauce. Continue simmering 1 hour. Serve over cooked rice. Serves 8 to 12.

Craving more? Try these 4 Deer Recipes to Die For.

 

More Waterfowl, Venison and Wild Game Recipes

For more recipes about venison and other wild game, visit our Grand View Wild Eats page here and give them a try.