I got to thinking the other day, and couldn’t decide why duck was so uncommon in American cuisine. Not sure if it’s common in any western cuisine - none that comes to mind anyway. And yet, it seems to be a tasty, healthy meat and is readily available in Chinese restaurants. I know of a few specialty dishes in other cooking styles, but nothing all that common - it would be something I’d have to deliberately seek out.
Anyone know why this is? Are ducks expensive to raise or does the meat not travel well?
It’s easy enough to buy frozen ducks at the supermarket. (Trader Joe’s had them in the '80s, but people complained at the way the ducks were killed, so they discontinued them.)
Maybe it’s that I now live in the Pacific Northwest, and food here doesn’t seem to be as highly seasoned as food in L.A. But I have a suspicion that Americans’ tastes tend toward homogeneity. (Ref: Methuselah’s Children.) Duck is more flavourful than chicken – indeed, many products tout ‘All white meat chicken!’ even though thighs are more flavourful – and that may account for some of the preference.
We had duck for Thanksgiving once when I was a kid. I remember it being nasty. Also, because ducks actually fly, instead of just fluttering onto a perch, like chickens, they are all dark meat. Since most Americans prefer white meat when they eat chicken or turkey, they feel cheated when they are faced with duck.
When people depended on hunting to eat, duck was pretty common, so I think if people liked it, it would have caught on.
Is this so? I love dark meat hands-down. My parents always graciously allowed us yung’uns to nab the chicken legs, but I got the feeling my whole family preferred dark meat.
Pretty much every fancy French place I have been to, and many pub menu places have duck in some form on the menu.
As Johnny L.A. says, it’s not uncommon to find, of you know how to look. Try the freezer section with goose, Cornish game hens, livers, giblets, etc. May be somewhat seasonal. Or befriend a duck hunter.
The first time I tried duck it was at Hawaii Kai, the first theme restaurant ever.* It was bony, greasy, hard and meatless. I’ve tried it several times since and it has always been at least two of those things.
*I don’t know if it was the first theme restaurant or not, but it was the mid to late '70s when I went and even then it was old.
I love duck (grew up in a family of hunters and have gone duck hunting myself) but I rarely think to make it at home. I do often order it in restaurants, but I need to make a note to roast one at home occasionally.
There is a local Thai restaurant that a bunch of us at work go to frequently for lunch. They occasionally have a duck stir-fry on the menu and everyone else in the group gets all excited about it. I tried it once and it was very fatty and chewy. Thank you no, I’ll stick with my pad thai with chicken.
This Slate article from a few years back addresses the white / dark meat issue (for chicken, anyway), and notes:
“According to William Roenigk, senior vice president of the National Chicken Council, Americans say they choose white chicken meat by a 2-to-1 margin mainly for health reasons.”
The article goes on to note that the perceived health advantage to white chicken meat is probably spurious, but there you go.
Duck (and goose) is awesome, but I think decades of us being told “fat is evil” has put the average consumer off of it. consider how many things boast how they’re made of “100% white meat chicken” as though dry chicken breast is a great thing.
as good as it is, duck and goose have a TON of fat.
Duck just went out of fashion, much like veal. Sure both can be found, but supermarkets only carry a limited amount (and the duck is always frozen since it sells so slowly).
Why? The preference for white meat is part of it, as is the . Also, duck costs more than chicken.* It’s a bit more fatty and is slightly higher in cholesterol. Duck is also served with a sauce** which can be high in calories.
It’s hard to find a restaurant that serves duck these days. I love duck a l’orange, and the crisp skin of a duck is heavenly.
But the big question is “Why a duck?”
*When I was growing up on eastern LI, there were a bunch of duck farms about a half hour away. I mostly remember the smell.
**“Kelly says that a duck delivers mail in Okefenokee Swamp. Does he have a source for that? Because what good is duck without a source?”
Duck breast is very fatty. That makes it less easy to cook in a way that’s appealing to modern American palates. There’s a reason that you usually have to order Peking Duck well ahead of time. I personally love grilling duck breast that has been butterflied, and serving it with a nice sauce. It’s much more tasty than chicken. Anyone who’s getting duck that is bony or meatless is getting it from the wrong place.