Sensational Stir-Fry: Duck Fried Rice

Asian-inspired recipes work well with waterfowl breast fillets. Sliced thin or diced, the fillets can be included in just about any stir-fry recipe. Have all of your ingredients sliced, diced, and on deck before firing up the wok, skillet, or flat-top grill. It only takes a few minutes to brown the meat, stir-fry the vegetables, and then add the sauce ingredients. If your guests are reluctant to give wild game a try, perhaps don’t tell them it’s duck until after their plates are clean.

Duck Fried Rice

This recipe makes a great side dish. It can also be used as the base for a main course—just top it with stir-fried broccoli, snow peas, shredded carrots, soy sauce, and perhaps a fried egg. Yields: 6 to 8 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups diced duck breast, skin removed
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
• 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 1/2 cups diced onion
• 1 1/2 cups peeled and diced carrots
• 1 1/2 cups diced celery
• 1 tablespoon fresh peeled
• and minced gingerroot
• 3 to 4 minced garlic cloves
• 1 cup fresh or frozen peas
• 4 cups cooked rice
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Heat vegetable and sesame oils over medium-high heat in a wok, large skillet, or flat-top grill. Add duck and stir-fry until evenly browned but still rare in the center. While cooking, add a few tablespoons of the soy sauce. Transfer cooked duck to a plate.

2. Stir-fry onion, carrot, celery, and ginger for 3 to 4 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add garlic and stir-fry for an additional 3 minutes. Add peas, rice, reserved duck, and remaining soy sauce. Stir until the mixture reaches serving temperature. Then stir in beaten eggs and continue to cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Stock Your Freezer

Today’s cooks understand that game meats can be substituted for domestic meats in many recipes. When you’re dealing with large quantities of waterfowl meat, you can freeze it for later use. Goose meat can be ground, packaged, and frozen for tacos, spaghetti sauce, or burgers. Perfectly plucked mallard breasts can be saved for special occasions. Darker-fleshed sea ducks can be labeled, frozen, and eventually used for recipes that depend on brines and marinades to make them more palatable.

Breaking down ducks and geese into parts before freezing is often a good idea. It frees up storage space and, because breast fillets and legs usually require different methods of cooking, it allows you to use just what you need when you pull meat from the freezer. Slow-cooked legs and thighs will fall off the bone after a few hours. Breasts cooked fast and hot are done in about 10 minutes.