Canards Sauvages (Wild Duck)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy low-sided roasting pan with a small rack
• •2-quart heavy saucepan
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Poultry shears
• •Sturdy fine-mesh sieve or chinois
• •Sharp carving knife
• •Heavy ladle and whisk

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the birds

   Run your fingers carefully over each duck and remove any pinfeathers or visible shot. Cut away bloodshot or badly bruised flesh rather than carrying its metallic bitterness into the jus. Remove the necks, wing tips, hearts, and gizzards for the sauce, discarding any organ damaged by shot. Pat the birds very dry, season them inside and out with the salt, and leave them at room temperature for 30 minutes while you begin the sauce. Tie the legs loosely together, but don't bind the birds into tight parcels; exposed skin browns better.

2. 2

   Build the sauce foundation

   Melt 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) of the softened butter in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Brown the necks, wing tips, hearts, and gizzards until they leave a dark fond, the browned deposits that give the sauce its backbone. Add the shallots and cook until lightly colored. Pour in the red wine, scrape the pan floor clean, and reduce to about ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g). Add the stock and bouquet garni, then simmer briskly for 20 to 25 minutes. Strain, pressing the trimmings firmly, and reduce the liquid to about 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g). Keep it warm.

3. 3

   Roast hard and fast

   Heat the oven to 475°F (245°C) with a heavy roasting pan on a rack in the upper third. Rub the ducks with the remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) softened butter and the pepper, then place them breast-side up in the hot pan. Roast for 10 minutes, rotate the pan, and continue for 8 to 14 minutes. Begin checking early. For the classical rosy service, pull the birds when the thickest part of each breast reaches 140°F (60°C); the temperature will rise as they rest. The fierce upper heat replaces the old salamander and gives the skin its bronze before the lean breast dries. If you require the public-health target of 165°F (74°C), lower the oven to 400°F (205°C) after the first 10 minutes and continue cooking to that temperature.

4. 4

   Rest and carve

   Transfer the ducks to a board and rest them for 10 minutes with the breast skin uncovered. Pour the roasting juices into the sauce foundation, leaving behind any scorched specks. Remove each leg through the joint, then take off the breasts in whole lobes by following the breastbone with a sharp knife. If a leg joint still feels firm, return the legs to the oven for 5 to 8 minutes while the breasts continue resting. Keep the breast lobes whole until the sauce is finished so they lose as little juice as possible.

5. 5

   Press the warm carcasses

   Cut the warm carcasses into manageable pieces with poultry shears. Set them in a sturdy fine-mesh sieve or chinois over the saucepan and crush firmly with the base of a ladle, forcing every dark juice into the sauce. Ladle a little hot sauce over the bones, press once more, then discard the spent carcasses. A professional kitchen used a duck press and a saucier working beside it; the sieve and ladle are the honest home equivalent. The apparatus is scaffolding and can go. Pressing the warm carcass is the dish and must stay.

6. 6

   Finish the jus

   Bring the sauce to a full simmer for 3 minutes, then reduce it until about ¾ cup (180 ml / 180 g) remains and it lightly coats the back of a spoon. Taste before adding salt, because the reduction concentrates everything. Remove the pan from the heat and make the jus monté au beurre, finished by whisking in cold butter, one cube at a time. Do not boil it again. If the sauce turns greasy or separates, stop adding butter and whisk in 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g) cold water off the heat. Ça se rattrape. If it becomes too intense, loosen it with a spoonful of warm stock.

7. 7

   Bring it together

   Slice each breast across the grain into thick pieces and arrange them with the legs on a warmed platter. Spoon a little sauce beneath and around the meat, keeping the bronzed skin exposed, then serve the remaining jus from a warm sauceboat. Canards sauvages waits for nobody once carved. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose young, mallard-sized birds with plump breasts and clean, sweet-smelling flesh. An older, heavily worked duck is better directed toward a salmis, where sauce and gentler finishing can serve its stronger meat honestly.
• •Wild birds vary enormously, so the thermometer outranks the clock. Start checking at 18 minutes, especially with teal or other small ducks; two birds of different sizes should leave the oven separately.
• •Inspect carefully for shot and bloodshot flesh. A pellet hidden near a joint is unkind to a guest's tooth, and damaged flesh can make the sauce taste metallic.
• •Public-health guidance treats wild duck as poultry and recommends 165°F (74°C). Use that target when the bird's handling is uncertain and for pregnant, elderly, very young, or immunocompromised diners. The classical rosy target should be reserved for promptly dressed, continuously chilled birds from a trusted source.
• •Pour a structured red with enough freshness for the game, such as red Burgundy or a northern Rhône. Leftover cooked duck keeps for up to 3 days under refrigeration; store the meat and sauce separately, then warm the sliced meat gently in the hot jus.

Advance Preparation

• •For drier skin and deeper seasoning, salt the ducks 4 to 12 hours ahead and refrigerate them uncovered. Remove them from the cold 30 minutes before roasting.
• •The sauce foundation can be made through its first straining and reduction up to 4 hours ahead. Cool and refrigerate it promptly, then reheat it before the warm carcasses are pressed into it.
• •Do not roast the birds ahead. The narrow margin between rosy and dry is lost during reheating, and the carcasses give their best juices to the sauce while still warm.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 190g)