Marilyn’s Wild Ducks with Blackberry Sauce

by | Feb 16, 2009 | Entrees | 1 comment

The wood ducks have been back for a few weeks now. They take up residence each year during mid to late winter in the small pond behind our house. It always surprises us when they appear – why I don’t know. Maybe we just don’t have enough faith that they will return. We are rather like children anticipating a birthday or Santa as we watch and wait for them. One year they co-habitated there with some mallards, a few teal and a Canada goose or two; we enjoyed checking on them and counting the population over a period of several months until they left us as the weather warmed. This year there seem to be only six – three pair. Our neighbor erected a nesting box a couple of years ago, but we haven’t seen any little ones yet. Maybe this will be the year.

My husband is an avid duck hunter, but he doesn’t like the taste of it. I do, but since he won’t eat it, I don’t fix it. We usually end up giving the bounty away to just about anyone willing to take some. The Browns, friends of ours in Deer Mountain, Utah, have a recipe that they rave about and will fix whenever they can get the ducks. Apparently, the wild ducks in Utah are not edible. This year we have saved some for them which they will pick up when they are back here in March. In the meantime, I thought I would share their recipe and let you judge for yourself. It sounds delicious to me. You could probably prepare a hen or domestic duck and get similar results. Our pond ducks are, of course, off limits to all of you duck hunters!

Duck
4 (whole) ducks (just breasts won’t do)
2 gala or fuji apples
celery
2 cans beef consomme (undiluted)
1 can water
Stuff duck cavities with inch slices of apple and celery. Place breast down in consomme and water. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and cook for 3 hours at 350 degrees. Duck should be very tender. Discard the apples and celery. Slice breasts and serve with blackberry sauce.

Blackberry Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup orange juice
2 T raspberry vinegar
1 1/4 cup frozen blackberries, thawed
1 1/4 cup canned beef broth
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons brandy, preferably Calvados Apple Brandy
1 tablespoon real maple syrup
Melt butter in heavy large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sugar; stir until sugar dissolves and mixture turns a deep amber color, about 5 minutes. Add wine, orange juice and vinegar (mixture will bubble vigorously) and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve caramel. Add berries and both broths and boil until sauce thickens and is reduced to about 1 cup, stirring occasionally. This will take about 25 minutes. Strain sauce through a sieve into heavy small saucepan, pressing berries with back of spoon. Mix in brandy and syrup. This can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Warm before serving. To serve, pour sauce over duck breasts or serve alongside and let your guests help themselves.

The Browns serve Uncle Ben’s Long Grain and Wild Rice and green beans with the duck. The blackberry sauce is wonderful over the rice, too.

1 Comment

  1. KBeau
    KBeau on at 3:38 pm

    I could have used this recipe a few year ago when Brent and Ben brought home some ducks at Christmas from a hunt in Arkansas with some fraternity brothers.

    Fortunately, we had given Hunter a Chinese cookbook for Christmas, since he had spent some time there with Campus Crusade. Unfortunately, we had to coat the ducks with honey and hang them in the window over the sink. That’s the way they begin their preparations in China.