Duck Dinner

Friend from a local farm up the road said a few of her ducks froze to death in the night and wanted to know if I wanted them. I don't work with birds for taxidermy, but said I'd like one for eating, since I prefer knowing exactly where my meat comes from and haven't had duck in a while. They aren't exactly eating ducks, she said, but I gave it a go anyhow. This mallard crossbreed was de-breasted and marinated in Teriyaki sauce for three hours before being tossed in the pan with a bit of butter and salt. I'd never de-breasted a duck before but it was a good learning experience. The meat certainly didn't taste as good as chicken or anything, but it made for a pretty nice one-person meal.

Since I wasn't going to use this skin for taxidermy, I saved the wings and am preserving them with salt and borax for a future project. The rest will be used as fishing bait and what I don't use will be buried on the farm for fertilizer.

I have no idea what breed of duck this is. They keep them mostly for pleasure and as pest control on the farm. It obviously has some mallard in it, but had a lot more white on it than any wild one I've seen. I will photograph the wings when they are done so you all can see the unique colors they have!