Birthday duck, birthday duck, it's the best day of the year girl! Last week I mentioned the wonderful dinner Honey and I prepared for my most recent birthday. The centerpieces of the meal were a goose and a duck. "Why that combination?" I hear you asking. Honey and I had recently discovered a megamart near us that carries these fowl as a standard part of their stock. Never having cooked and eaten goose before, we thought my birthday offered a dandy opportunity for experimentation. We acquired one of each due to the fact that 2 geese would have been too much for the number of guests we anticipated. As it happened this was a lucky accident.
While the goose was very handsome and stuffed with a scrumptious wild rice dressing (Honey and I like to live on the edge), the meat was tough. It was flavorful, of a dark hue reminiscent of red meat, and definitely required a patient set of choppers to consume. Everybody present nodded graciously over their servings of tough bird while hacking with their knives. In testimony to its toothsomeness the gallant goose was soon reduced to its natural armature... which I later used as the basis for a stock. Our conclusion after the meal was that goose is the mutton of fowl. Ah well, now we know.
Without a doubt, the duck was the jewel in the crown of our meal. Everybody got at least a taste, and as the birthday girl I ate the drumsticks. When I had my first bite I believe my first words were, “Oh my god, Honey! Mmm, oh my god.” Yes, sampling my Honey's cooking is a near tantric experience.
How to describe this duck? It was moist and literally dripped juice when carved. The flesh was more tender than a kitten sleeping nestled in the palm of your hand. The glaze was a balanced combination of sweet, salty, and spicy that produced a pleasant tingle and complemented the meat rather than candying it. The result was glorious. Ah, my loves, and oh, my friends you will be moved when you taste this bird. You will swoon, you will weep, you will slap yo mama. Honey and I immediately agreed that we should make this dish more often.
While the goose was very handsome and stuffed with a scrumptious wild rice dressing (Honey and I like to live on the edge), the meat was tough. It was flavorful, of a dark hue reminiscent of red meat, and definitely required a patient set of choppers to consume. Everybody present nodded graciously over their servings of tough bird while hacking with their knives. In testimony to its toothsomeness the gallant goose was soon reduced to its natural armature... which I later used as the basis for a stock. Our conclusion after the meal was that goose is the mutton of fowl. Ah well, now we know.
Without a doubt, the duck was the jewel in the crown of our meal. Everybody got at least a taste, and as the birthday girl I ate the drumsticks. When I had my first bite I believe my first words were, “Oh my god, Honey! Mmm, oh my god.” Yes, sampling my Honey's cooking is a near tantric experience.
How to describe this duck? It was moist and literally dripped juice when carved. The flesh was more tender than a kitten sleeping nestled in the palm of your hand. The glaze was a balanced combination of sweet, salty, and spicy that produced a pleasant tingle and complemented the meat rather than candying it. The result was glorious. Ah, my loves, and oh, my friends you will be moved when you taste this bird. You will swoon, you will weep, you will slap yo mama. Honey and I immediately agreed that we should make this dish more often.