Delicious Duck

I usually cook on Sundays so that I have something to bring in my lunch during the upcoming week.  Since I'm cooking for one and get tired of eating leftovers, I try to prepare a form of protein that can be used in a variety of ways.  Yesterday, I decided to pot roast ducks.  Ducks are my favorite source of protein of all time, and luckily, I know a couple of duck hunters who keep my freezer supplied!

My version of pot roasted duck:
Take defrosted ducks out of the refrigerator and sprinkle them, inside and out, with a wild game seasoning (I used one from Hollier's in Sulphur), along with a little extra salt and black pepper.  Then, let the ducks get to room temperature and stuff their cavities with onion. 

Next, heat about a tablespoon of grapeseed oil in a dutch oven.  I chose grapeseed oil because it has a high smoke point and I wanted to get my pot super hot to sear these ducks.  Which is what I did next...Sear them on all sides.  After they are nice and brown all around, reduce the heat to medium low and add about 4 cups of water to the pot.

Put a lid on it and let it cook for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  Add water as needed. When they are super tender, take them out and let them cool.  Add about 1 tbsp of flour to the gravy left in the pot, just to thicken it up.

When ducks have cooled, take the skin off and debone and shred all the meat.  Add a little of the gravy and the onions from the pot to your shredded duck to keep it moist.

Now you have deliciousness to feed you for the week!  Duck is a lean protein and you can't get more organic than wild game.  And Lola was thrilled to get the the discarded skin.

Some meal ideas:

duck baked potato (I had this for lunch today: bake a potato, add a little bit of duck gravy and some of the shredded duck meat.  It was heavenly!)

duck with rice & gravy (the standard for my family)

duck salad

duck & grits

duck quesadillas

duck with mashed potatoes and gravy

duck fritatta

duck tacos

duck sandwiches

I'm going to quit because I feel like Bubba Gump!

I would like to give Jeff a special thanks for going out in the wet, the humid, the sometimes scorching hot and sometimes freezing cold, the mosquitos, the super early hours, and all the other conditions he braved to shoot these birds, clean them, and put them in my freezer.  Although, I know its not that much of a chore to do something that is so fun and that you love. :)

It's now time to go work off some calories from the weekend.  Bleacher club, here I come!  I have a feeling Mike is going to be super hard on us this week because he leaves for vacation Friday....wish me luck!