Cookaholics Bulletin Board

We bought a 7 lb 11 oz Muscovy duck from Eberlys in PA. Anyone have any great recipes? I know that these ducks are usually around 4 lbs, but that is not what we have.
TIA

Perhaps it's really a Chernobyl Duck?

The best treatment of Muscovy I have ever had was a restaurant meal where the breast was pan sautéed sauced and served very rare. The meat is very lean and very red so overcooking the breast can yield tough and stringy results.

When I tried to roast one at home, the result was than stellar. There is not usually enough fat to make comfit or to save for future meals. If I try one again, I will probably try to braise or make soup with the bottom half after searing the breasts.

While we're talking about game birds, any good recipes for pheasant? Mom now has a 4.25# bird in her freezer waiting for me to make it special. Haven't worked with pheasant since food school, i.e. 1992.

Do you belong to eat your books? If so, you might do a search of your cookbooks. I searched and found a number of recipes; mostly from my French cookbooks.

I've not had pheasant for years...

Amy

Muscovy Duck: Large sizes are not unusual. The size offers the opportunity to roast the breast to rare. The Leg/Thigh is begging for confit. The skin is wonderful for cracklings. The remaining meat will make a great soup using the carcass for stock. That sounds like 5 different meals.

Pheasant can dry out easily. I usually wrap mine in caul fat which also holds seasoning and herbs. Slow roasting followed by a quick blast of heat gives color. Make a pan sauce with heavy cream... Better yet, mail me that bird!

Tim

Amy
I do belong to eat your books, however I didn't find any matches. I must say that I don't have all of my books indexed. Perhaps I should finish that up today.

Tim
I guess I need to deconstruct my bird.

Thanks to all, pls keep the ideas coming.

Kathy,

The good news is that breaking down a duck is incredibly easy. And, I actually was referring to Becky's request for pheasant on my EYB reference, but I just did a search on Muscovy duck, and I've got some recipes that look pretty good, but not as whole duck...magrets and leg/thighs.

Amy

As Tim eluded...the bird is lean and can be very dry. I like to pound out the breast thin and chicken fry it and smother it with cream gravy.

I happen to have some caul fat in the freezer! I still might break it down and do a braise with the legs and seared breasts.