What's for Dinner #7

Have you checked out Ott,A's Iron Chef contest?

Maple Leaf Farms is sponsoring this contest and providing some awesome giveaways. Make sure to check it out and join in!

I've never had duck. Maybe I lead a sheltered life, or maybe I'm just a picky eater. It's not that I had anything against duck, it just never occurred to me to cook it. So when Ott,A told me about the recipe contest, I was all over it, ready to experiment. Here's what we had for dinner the first time I made duck:

Ducky-yaki (recipe follows)
Steamed Carrots
Mashed Potatoes (gravy made from duck drippings, not pictured because I don't like gravy)
Stuffing (made on stove top with duck stock) not pictured because I don't like stuffing!

It would have been great to have a shot of the fully cooked duck, but I didn't get to it before the husband started carving!

Ducky-yaki, or Teriducky if you prefer :)

What You'll Need:

1/3 of a large pineapple
1 (10 oz) bottle soy sauce
1/2 t ground ginger
1/3 c dry white wine (I used Huber's)
1 large clove garlic

Core and cut your fresh pineapple

 

You'll only need about a third of it, so go ahead and chop the rest of and give it to the drooling husband and kids. They're standing right outside the kitchen begging for it anyway!Yes, I know I need new cutting boards.

Put the pineapple and the garlic cloves in your food processor and puree. You'll need about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of the pineapple puree. If you really want to, you could use canned crushed pineapple. I've made it that way before; it's just not as tasty in my opinion.

Pour into bowl and add remaining ingredients. Stir well.

Pour a cup of the mixture into a container with a lid. Put this in the fridge; you won't need it until it's time to cook the duck.

Pour remaining marinade into a Ziploc bag and put duck in with it. I was able to get the duck inside a gallon size Ziploc bag, but it took some work! Let it sit for 24 hours. I apologize for the lack of pictures, but honestly, I forgot to take pictures of it marinating.

Time to cook!

I cooked this in my table top roaster. I had heard that duck was a bit fatty and I would need to watch it during the cooking process. I also have my reserved teriyaki sauce that I would need to add and I thought this would just be easier.

I prepared the roaster by putting a baking rack covered in aluminum foil, then slit in several places, in the bottom. Then, preheat to 350. I scored the skin in a few places on the breast and sides, as well as the back. When it's ready to go, I put the duck inside and let her cook! Maybe I should have called this Ugly Duckling...it's not very pretty. Good thing it ends up being so tasty!

After about 2 hours, check the temperature in the thickest part of the meat. At this point, my duck was reading 160 degrees. Add the remaining teriyaki sauce and continue cooking. I let it cook until the temperature read 180. After resting on the platter for a few minutes, the husband carved away. I wasn't able to get pictures of this as I was working on the stuffing and potatoes.

The husband and I had never eaten duck, so we invited Audrey from Friday Night Dinner Date over to offer her opinion. She's a big fan of duck, and free food. I have to say, I really like duck! It has such a rich taste that went quite well with my marinade. The meat was so tender and juicy! I wasn't the only one...the husband and Audrey really like it as well. For dessert that night, we had Banana Eclairs. Super yum all the way around! A big thanks to Maple Leaf Farms for sponsoring this contest and making duck fans out of the husband and myself!

Full Plate Thursday