Ducks and ducklings, tame and wild, are prepared alike. To be good, a
duck must be fat, be it a _canvasback_, _gadwell_, _black-duck_,
_garganey_, _poachard_, _wood-duck_, _pintail_, _shoveller_,
_spirit-duck_, _summer-duck_, _teal_, _widgeon_, _shelldrake_, or any
other.
_How to select._--A young duck has the lower part of the legs soft, and
the skin between the claws soft also; you will also know if it is young
by taking hold of it by the bill (the under bill only), if it breaks or
bends, the duck is young.
If the breast of the duck is hard and thick, it is fresh enough.
_How to prepare._--A duck is cleaned and prepared as directed for
poultry.
_Roasted._--Clean, prepare, and truss the duck as a chicken, with the
exception that the rump is pushed inside; the duck being much longer
than a chicken, it is more sightly when so trussed.
Place inside of the duck two sage-leaves, two bay-leaves, and two sprigs
of thyme, and leave it thus in a cool place for two or three hours, and
then roast it as directed for chicken.
When roasted, serve it with any of the following garnitures: cabbage,
cauliflower, _Macedoine_, onion, or truffles.
The fatty part of the gravy or drippings must be carefully and totally
removed before turning it over the duck and garniture. It takes from
thirty to forty minutes to roast.
_Baked._--When cleaned, prepared, and trussed as directed for turkeys
and chickens, put the duck in a bakepan, salt and pepper it, cover the
bottom of the pan with cold water, and place it in a rather quick oven.
A duck, being generally very fat, requires to be turned over and over
several times and to be basted very often. It is not necessary to cover
it with buttered paper. In case there is much fat in the pan, remove it
while it is cooking.
It is served as directed for roast duck, with garnitures.
When roasted or baked, it is also served with apple or cranberry-sauce,
or with currant-jelly.
_With Peas._--Cut in dice about one ounce of salt pork and put it in a
saucepan; set it on the fire, and, as soon as the butter is melted,
brown in it a duck trussed as directed and take from the fire. Put one
ounce of butter in a saucepan and mix it cold with a tablespoonful of
flour, set it on the fire, and, when the butter is melted, put the duck
in with about a quart of green peas, blanched for one or two minutes
only; add about a pint of water or of broth, a bunch of seasonings
composed of three or four stalks of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf,
and one clove, salt, and pepper; boil gently till the whole is cooked,
and serve warm.
Remove all the fat carefully before serving.
If the water should boil away while it is cooking, add a little more.
_With Oranges._--Roast or bake a young duck as directed, and serve it
with carpels of orange all around; and sprinkle some orange-juice all
over just before serving it.
_With Olives._--Roast or bake the duck as directed. When done, turn the
gravy into a small saucepan with about two dozen olives; stir gently,
and keep on the fire for about five minutes. Dish the duck, place the
olives all around; turn the gravy over the whole, and serve warm.
_Saute, served with a Border._--When cleaned and cut in eight pieces as
directed, set it on the fire with one ounce of butter, stir occasionally
till turning brown, then pour off the fat from the saucepan, add broth
enough just to cover the pieces of duck; also one onion with a clove
stuck in it, a bunch of seasonings tied with twine and composed of four
stalks of parsley, one of thyme, and a bay-leaf, salt, and pepper; boil
gently till done. Place the pieces of duck inside of a border of rice,
strain the sauce over the duck only, and serve hot.
The rice must be cooked, moulded, and placed on the dish while the duck
is cooking, so as to serve the whole warm. (_See_ Rice in Border.)
_To cut._--A duck is generally cut in eight pieces, the two legs and
wings, the breast in two, and the back-bone in two.
_With Turnips._--Truss the duck as directed for birds. Put one ounce of
butter in a saucepan, set it on the fire, and, when melted, put the duck
in, turn over now and then till it is brown on every side. Then add a
piece of onion chopped fine, stir, and, when turning brown also, add
water enough to half cover it; also a bunch of seasonings composed of
three sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, and a clove; boil
gently till done, when add salt to taste.
While the duck is cooking, cut two turnips in dice or in round pieces
with a fruit-corer, or with a vegetable spoon, set them on the fire with
cold water and salt, boil till tender, and drain them.
Put them back on the fire with the sauce or gravy from the saucepan in
which the duck has cooked, give one boil, dish the duck, place the
turnips around, and serve.
_Another way._--Cut the duck in pieces. Set a saucepan on the fire with
an ounce of butter in it, when melted, add half a tablespoonful of
flour, stir, and, when turning brown, add half a dozen small turnips or
two large ones, cut with a vegetable spoon; stir, and, when they are all
browned, take them off and brown the pieces of duck; then put the
turnips back in the pan, add broth enough just to cover the whole; also
two sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, a clove, salt, and
pepper; boil gently till cooked; dish the duck and turnips, turn the
sauce over them through a strainer, and serve warm.
_Cold._--What is left from the preceding day's dinner is prepared in
_salmis_.
Very often a duck is baked, especially to make a _salmis_ with it.
(_See_ Salmis.)
_Boned._--Bone, fill, cook, and serve as turkey boned.
Cold duck may also be prepared in _croquettes_ and salad, like chicken.
_Stuffed._--It is stuffed with sausage-meat and chestnuts, also like a
chicken.