Cast Iron Duck Halves
Corey Mulhair at SPLIT REED
Presented by Browning Firearms
For all the corn, wheat and barley fattened late-season ducks shot by hunters, it pains me to know that most of them just get breasted out.
With the modern agricultural practices of today, hunting field ducks in cut small grain and cornfields is commonplace. The hunting can be as good as it gets, if you’re into big wads of mallards, wigeon, and pintail finishing at 15 yards, that is. On top of that, those ducks tend to have been feeding grain fields for some time and fattening up for their southernly migration. Taking in high-calorie food and converting it to stored saturated fat reserves to help them get through their wintering months.
Corn or grain fattened birds are a thing of wonder, and should not be squandered. They are truly a gift and should be treated as such. One great way to find a compromise between the extra effort you don’t really want to go through and the wonderful table fare that is a grain fattened duck, are cast iron duck halves.
Let’s get into it.
STEP 1: Per usual, shoot some ducks. My favorite ducks to eat with skin and fat on are corn/rice/wheat (or other small grain) munching birds.
STEP 2: I like to age ducks for a few days if they aren’t shot up. This allows some of the gamier flavor imparted by the oxygen-rich blood to dissipate over those few days, and also releases muscle from rigor mortis and allows natural enzymes to tenderize the meat a bit.
STEP 3: When it’s time to get to processing, whether you’ve aged the ducks or got to them right after the hunt, you’re going to want to pluck the front of the bird. We want to remove all feathers from the base of the wing, up to the base of the neck, down the breasts, and from the legs/thighs. I call this a “front-plucked” duck.
Front-plucked cornfield wigeon.
STEP 4: This is the part where a nice sharp knife comes into play. Use a small knife you can maneuver well. Cut through the skin, fat, and flesh and down the breastplate ridge along both sides. Then, cut along the wishbone at the top of the breastplate ridge, towards the shoulders, using the wishbone as your guide. Now continue the breastplate ridge cuts down to the base of the breastplate to the soft spot over the intestinal cavity. Cut the breasts from the breastplate. You can then cut the breast meat from the wings and then pop the thigh bone ball socket. The final product can be seen below.
STEP 5: This is a fairly important step, you are going to want to singe or burn off any remaining feather bits left in/on the skin. I use a torch, but a few matches or a lighter or even a gas range stove-top will work.
Pintail halves on the left, and wigeon halves on the right. Removed from carcass and any remaining feathers singed off.
STEP 6: This step is situational, in that if you have one, use it. I use a metal detector to ensure I’ve caught all the pellets so my teeth don’t!
STEP 7: Grain-fed duck is an amazingly flavorful dish. Don’t over-do it, but a little salt and pepper is a great compliment to the flavors of the fat and flesh. If you want to help open up the skin/fat a bit, you can also light score the fat/skin of your duck halves. Season the flesh side, no need to season the fat/skin side.
Salt and pepper seasoned flesh sides, scored fat sides, of the pintail and wigeon halves.
STEP 8: Because I have it, I like to use it. Rendered goose or duck fat makes a great cooking oil for most meats. I usually stick to using it for stove-top style duck recipes. Heat your cast iron skillet to med-high and turn a fan on! Then drop in some fat to wake up the cast iron, and allow it to coat the pan. Once your fat or oil is just reaching smoke point- put the duck halves in, fat side down.
STEP 9: Depending on the heat of the skillet and how hot your oil can get without smoking up the place, your cook time will likely be around 7-ish minutes. Flip from fat/skin side onto flesh side after the first couple minutes and allow to finish there. You want the duck to be cooked to a medium, at most. Medium-rare is the target. You want some bounce to the flesh as your pull it off the skillet.
STEP 10: Remove from heat and let rest for a few minutes, then enjoy the whole half! Breasts can be sliced and legs/thighs to be gnawed on!
For more mouth-watering waterfowl recipes, click the link here!
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