Bagging Ducks

​My last post (Canning 101) was pretty technical. I wanted to lighten it up today.

A couple year's ago, my friend invited my husband and I to a dinner party. It was at a friend of a friend's house. We had met the people having the party, but didn't really know them. The hosts were incredibly interesting -- the husband was the dentist for a royal family in the Middle East before he retired (I'll call him the "Dentist"). We were invited to this party, in part, because the Dentist knew we were foodies. 

The Dentist, also a foodie, hired a local 4-H kid to raise ducks for him. Where we live, you can't readily buy duck in a grocery store, especially not fresh, wild duck.  So, the dentist found a local kid that wanted to earn some money raising ducks.

We knew the 4-H ducks were on the menu, so we were pretty excited about this dinner. We pulled up to the Dentist’s house, which was in a very nice, upscale neighborhood in a nearby town and I was feeling intimidated. We didn't know the hosts, they were older than us, and I was not very familiar with duck. Right out the gate, the appetizers start flowing. We had shrimp, bacon wrapped dates, and an assortment of cheese. I am not sure I had ever eaten a date until that night.  I was pretty stuffed by the time the appetizers were over.

When it was time for dinner, we all went to the table, which was very formal. The fine china was out and every place setting had a charger. We sat down and the Dentist's wife came out of the kitchen with dinner already plated. She put an entire duck down in front of each one of us. On the drive to the party, my husband and I were talking about whether we would each get our own duck. My husband pointed out that would be completely insane, but I thought there was a chance. Even though I thought it might happen, I was super shocked to see an entire duck on my plate. We were given scissors to cut the duck into pieces, to make it easier to eat. The duck was served rare, which is really important when cooking game.

As we all sat staring at our own ducks, the Dentist explained that the 4-H kid only fed the ducks insects. The ducks never had grains. He also told us that he grew up in the mid-west and his dad was a duck hunter. He explained that every Sunday evening, his family had duck that his dad had shot that day. Duck was important to the Dentist and getting duck where we live was a labor of love. He graciously shared his most prized food with us and it was delicious.

As we were finishing the night, my husband had the guts to ask the Dentist if he could take his duck carcass home to make stock. I almost kicked him under the table. Luckily, the Dentist was flattered and offered to allow us to take all of the ducks with us. This posed an interesting question: how does one transport six duck carcasses without preparing ahead of time? We did not have special Tupperware, a cooler, not even a box. Although, I am not sure how you are supposed to take duck carcasses home from a dinner party.

So, we left the dinner party in the mansion with a trash bag filled with six discarded duck carcasses. I was absolutely mortified. It looked like a scene straight out of the Beverly Hillbillies.  

In hindsight, my husband was right to snatch up the duck – the stock was unbelievable. And, because we took every duck at the table, we had stock for a year. 

It was also a really important lesson in how I have had to re-frame what is acceptable when I am thinking about food that doesn't come from a grocery store. I thought the duck carcasses were trash and the Dentist planned to throw them away. Once my husband asked to take the carcasses, the trash became usable food. 

We live in a rural, rugged area where the nearest Whole Foods is four hours away, over mountain passes and through numerous reservations. There is no Trader Joe’s. We don't have one-hour Amazon Prime delivery. In reality, “two day” delivery sometimes takes six days.

Having access to high quality food is a huge reason that I have embraced this lifestyle. Because my husband took the duck carcasses, we were able to make stock, use a part of the animal that would have otherwise been thrown away, and had access to food that we could not buy in the grocery store.
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We wanted great food, so we have learned how to source it ourselves. We used the duck stock in dishes for an entire year. One of the best uses was paella. Here is our recipe:

Paella on the grill. This is when you need to close the lid and stop stirring.

​Paella
This is an old-world recipe in the sense that you can be very flexible with ingredients -- it is to taste and availability. This recipe is for a 14" paella pan.
 
Ingredients:
2 c. Long grain white rice
1 tablespoon garlic
Olive oil
1 red bell pepper julienned 
1 quart of stock (may need 2 quarts depending on altitude, cooking time, etc.)
1 bottle of dry white wine
1 minced red onion
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon red chile
Salt and pepper to taste
4-6 oz. of each: cubed de-boned chicken, cut sausage links, scallops, raw shrimp, clams/mussels/squid (depending on what is available)
 
1. Pre-heat grill. Prep all ingredients before you begin cooking. 

2. Place the paella pan on the grill, add rice and 1 tablespoon of garlic with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. You want to toast the rice until there is a little char. Constantly stir to ensure the rice does not stick to the pan throughout the cook time.

3. Add red bell pepper and sauté. 

4. Begin adding stock to the rice. Constantly keep the rice wet throughout the rest of the cook time. If the rice is dry at the top, add liquid. Alternate stock and white wine.

5. Add minced red onion.

6. Season with smoked paprika, red chile powder, and salt and pepper. Traditionally, paella requires saffron. But, saffron is very expensive and not available where I live. We substitute paprika and chile powder.

7. Once the rice is about 60% cooked, add meat. Push the meat into the rice in a circular pattern. (Ring of chicken, ring of sausage, etc) All meat goes into the paella pan at the same time. Once the meat is added, stop stirring. Close the lid to the grill.

8. Check on the paella to ensure it is not burning. Add stock and wine to ensure the top of the paella is wet. 
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9. Paella is done when you see that all ingredients are fully cooked. Make sure the chicken is cooked fully by visually inspecting it. There will be a crust at the bottom of the paella once it is done. That is a good thing.
 
When you serve the paella, scoop it from the outside in as if you are serving a piece of pie. Add tabasco (tabasco is best because it is a vinegar based hot sauce).
 
Total cook time: about 1 hour 15 minutes

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