Cooking mature duck

[dotknott]

Hi all! First post on this forum! Apologies in advance if this is in the wrong sub forum.

I've got these two ducks in the fridge. Mature birds well past the ideal butchering age, but I needed to cull some of the flock and I hate to have them go to waste.

I've only cooked young birds before and don't know what to do with the older ones. I was thinking duck ravioli might be okay since I could grind the meat and that may help with any toughness.

Suggestions and insight appreciated!

 

[dotknott]

Well, I decided on trying to confit. I pieced the ducks last night and reserved one giant bowl of fat from the process. Tomorrow I'll roast the carcass and render the fat. I have the legs and wings in a salt cure getting ready to confit. I froze the breast meat for the time being.

 

[Pork Pie]

Maybe you could ask on this thread

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1090656/ask-a-chef

All the best
CT

 

[hooktontravel]

glad to find this. i have some year-old boys i offered but no one needs them... and i have too many males! so they need to freezer camp, but i've actually NEVER eaten duck before and i'm not sure what to do for a good first-duck-experience with mature (probably more tough!) meat.

 

[Cazook]

My goto is cooking the whole thing in a pressure cooker then shredding off the meat and keeping the fat and stock. Then it's usually soft enough to use in whatever recipe like a curry or stew etc, and the stock makes great soup or even the base for the sauce for a stir fry.

Tried roasting one once. So chewy