# Why is duck uncommon in American cuisine? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 12, 2017, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032 "2017-03-12T22:33:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032/41 "2017-03-13T18:47:47Z")
I love duck. Wild and domestic. I think one of the reasons most people dislike duck is that it is usually overcooked. I prefer duck around medium-rare, but many people are squicked by the idea of eating a bird that hasn’t been roasted to death. We’ve raised Pekin (not Pekin\*\*g \*\*) ducks and the are a huge hassle with the amount of mess they create and their habit of dropping eggs in random places, but so worth it at the table! ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032/42 "2017-03-13T18:57:58Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > But the big question is “Why a duck?” “Why a no chicken?” ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032/43 "2017-03-13T20:13:58Z")
The turducken has achieved a certain cult popularity around Thanksgiving. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032/44 "2017-03-13T20:33:43Z")
[QUOTE=smiling bandit;2006135Not sure if it’s common in any western cuisine - none that comes to mind anyway. [/QUOTE] In my time spent in Europe, duck seemed to be more prominent on restaurant menus than chicken. It may have just been my perception - confirmation bias, and all that. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032/45 "2017-03-13T23:33:17Z")
Duck is a fairly common item on restaurant menus in my neck of the woods. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032/46 "2017-03-14T01:45:38Z")
I take it that with turducken, the duck serves to transfer some of its fattier qualities to the other fowl and balances out the usually bland turkey. Oh, and of course… > [@Trancephalic](#): > > Because it’s always rabbit season > [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Win. [_Duck_ season! **FIRE!!**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-k5J4RxQdE) ---
**Author:** ![Elemenopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5e925/32.png) [@Elemenopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elemenopy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032/47 "2017-03-14T02:08:04Z")
I wish I knew why it isn’t more popular. I love duck (and goose), and I make confit/rillettes once a year or so, and fricassee every so often…but it’s so goldarn expensive. I’d buy it once a month or so if it weren’t so dear. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032/48 "2017-03-14T15:55:24Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Heck around here Canadian geese quit migrating years ago and now we have them everywhere making a big mess. The solution would be to allow hunting, trapping, and eating them but nobody would allow that. Just to nitpick, they’re _Canada geese_, not Canadian geese. They’re native to many parts of the United States, and they don’t necessarily go to Canada when they migrate. I’ve always heard (but never tried) that they’re tougher and greasier than domestic geese, and that we really want to eat them. ---
**Author:** ![down\_south\_playa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9f8e36/32.png) [@down\_south\_playa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/down_south_playa)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032/49 "2017-03-14T16:35:14Z")
I love duck breast it is hands down my favorite meat. In Virginia I can only get duck at one of two places : 1) Upscale restaurants for $25 a plate, or 2) Artisan butchery for $19 a pound. So I think people don’t eat it much simply because it is expensive. The question you should be asking is “Why is duck so expensive in America?” ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032/50 "2017-03-14T16:39:44Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Just to nitpick, they’re _Canada geese_, not Canadian geese. They’re native to many parts of the United States, and they don’t necessarily go to Canada when they migrate. > > I’ve always heard (but never tried) that they’re tougher and greasier than domestic geese, and that we really want to eat them. They’re big pests everywhere, like giant hissing pigeons. They are a protected species. People often wonder if they can be eaten. They eat a lot of garbage and swim in polluted water, so I don’t think they’re even safe to eat…though I do know someone who knew someone who DID kill and eat a Canada goose. Reportedly it was just awful, and the meat was foul tasting and ultra-tough. The good news, there wasn’t much of it as the big body was mostly hollow. So it’s probably fortunate for the geese that they aren’t good eats. ---
**Author:** ![apollonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@apollonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apollonia)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032/51 "2017-03-14T16:43:58Z")
As I understand it, Canada geese aren’t protected any more so than other birds in most places–they’re a species of least concern, and many communities have enacted culls or extended hunting seasons. They’re protected in the sense that you can’t go around capturing them willy-nilly, but so are most other birds. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032/52 "2017-03-14T17:06:13Z")
We’ll soon be eating a lot more duck in the US. There’s only room for one Donald right now. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032/53 "2017-03-14T17:30:52Z")
> [@apollonia](#): > > As I understand it, Canada geese aren’t protected any more so than other birds in most places–they’re a species of least concern, and many communities have enacted culls or extended hunting seasons. They’re protected in the sense that you can’t go around capturing them willy-nilly, but so are most other birds. [The Migratory Bird Treaty Act makes it illegal for anyone to take, possess, import, export, transport, sell, purchase, barter, or offer for sale, purchase, or barter, any migratory bird, or the parts, nests, or eggs of such a bird except under the terms of a valid permit issued pursuant to Federal regulations. The migratory bird species protected by the Act are listed in 50 CFR 10.13.](https://www.fws.gov/birds/policies-and-regulations/laws-legislations/migratory-bird-treaty-act.php) GOOSE, Barnacle, _Branta leucopsis_ Canada, _Branta canadensis_ (including Cackling Goose, _Branta hutchinsii_) ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032/54 "2017-03-14T17:34:02Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > They’re big pests everywhere, like giant hissing pigeons. I suppose Captain Sullenberger’s opinion of Canada geese is probably not too positive either, and has nothing to do with their taste 😉 ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032/55 "2017-03-14T23:24:36Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > I suppose Captain Sullenberger’s opinion of Canada geese is probably not too positive either, and has nothing to do with their taste 😉 They left a bad taste in his mouth probably. ---
**Author:** ![apollonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@apollonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apollonia)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032/56 "2017-03-15T01:20:04Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > [The Migratory Bird Treaty Act makes it illegal for anyone to take, possess, import, export, transport, sell, purchase, barter, or offer for sale, purchase, or barter, any migratory bird, or the parts, nests, or eggs of such a bird except under the terms of a valid permit issued pursuant to Federal regulations. The migratory bird species protected by the Act are listed in 50 CFR 10.13.](https://www.fws.gov/birds/policies-and-regulations/laws-legislations/migratory-bird-treaty-act.php) > > GOOSE, Barnacle, _Branta leucopsis_ > Canada, _Branta canadensis_ (including Cackling Goose, _Branta hutchinsii_) Yes, thank you, but the same act applies to crows, songbirds, and pigeons. My point being that Canada geese in most places aren’t offered any special protection that doesn’t also extend to other migratory birds. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032/57 "2017-03-15T02:33:09Z")
> [@apollonia](#): > > Yes, thank you, but the same act applies to crows, songbirds, and pigeons. My point being that Canada geese in most places aren’t offered any special protection that doesn’t also extend to other migratory birds. _True_…but few people realize just how broad the protections on native birds in NA is. Saying they are no more protected than crows, seems to trivialize the fact that crows have an extraordinary degree of protection in place. Disrupt an active crow nest and you could potentially pay a fine of $15,000 and spend six months in prison 🙂 ( not that that is ever likely to happen in practice in most cases, but that is the maximum that theoretically could be inflicted ). ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032/58 "2017-03-15T04:01:04Z")
Farmed duck is fatty and expensive and the breasts should be cooked medium rare. Wild duck is lean and tough and best brined and cooked low and slow. I think people don’t like duck because they don’t know what to do with it. I roast wild geese breast down or brine them with the ducks. The best thing to do with wild birds is add some pork fat and make pepperoni sticks. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032/59 "2017-03-15T11:20:23Z")
> [@apollonia](#): > > Yes, thank you, but the same act applies to crows, songbirds, and pigeons. My point being that Canada geese in most places aren’t offered any special protection that doesn’t also extend to other migratory birds. Actually, [pigeons (_Columba livea_) do not migrate,](http://www.birdfeeders.com/articles/resident-birds) and as Tamerlane mentioned, the protection of migratory birds is actually pretty serious. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032/60 "2017-03-15T15:36:18Z")
I’ve had duck, but it’s more expensive, fattier and scrawnier. It is also harder to cook than a chicken or a turkey. If you cook it whole, the breast is done but the legs are almost raw, and when the legs are done, the breast is overdone. So it’s more work and more money for somewhat less payoff. Regards, Shodan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-duck-uncommon-in-american-cuisine/782032.md?page=4)