Wild Duck for Dinner

Boom, boom, boom – the sound of hunters guns blasting away reverberated through our caravan in the early morning.  The first Saturday in May is the start of the duck-hunting season, and the camp caretaker had joined his mates for a weekend of sport.    He was hoping for low cloud in the morning, he told us before he left the camp.  Then the ducks fly low, making it easier for the hunters to get good shots. 

European settlers introduced game birds to New Zealand, and Mallard ducks, Paradise ducks and Canada geese became well established. The duck shooting season opens in the first weekend of May and runs for 3 months. A license must be obtained from Fish and Game New Zealand every season, and ducks must be shot with a shotgun while on the wing (flying). The use of lead shot  was banned from use some years ago, and hunters now use nontoxic steel shot as a replacement. The birds  have good eyesight, so hunters usually conceal themselves in a maimai (a hide, usually made of wood, corrugated iron and manuka brush). Decoy ducks made from wood, cork or plastic are placed on the water to attract ducks to land. Hunters also blow on instruments which mimic the birds’ calls and make them think it’s safe to land.

Photo courtesy Don Scott, The Press

The young caretaker arrived back on Sunday while our group of happy campers were enjoying lunch together out in the sunshine.  He’d had a great time away with his mates, he said, and got plenty of ducks.  Then he brought out a big bag of  Paradise duck breasts for us all. (“Breasting” is an alternative to plucking the whole bird, and releases most of the usable meat). We were astounded - what a generous young man to share his catch with us, a bunch of geriatric campers who were just there for the weekend!  Yes please, we said, but how do we cook them?  Wrap them in bacon and cook in the oven, we were told.

Wild duck breasts

A quick look at Mr Google soon provided a recipe, so that is what we did for dinner.  The duck breasts were rinsed, patted dry, and wrapped in streaky bacon.  Next step was to brown then in the pan, then place them in a hot oven.

Brown them first, the recipe said

They took about half an hour to cook, just long enough to prepare and cook some veggies to go with our duck.  The meal was dished up, just hope it tastes as good as it looks. 

Wild duck for dinner

Our verdict?  Sadly, these were a little tough, but that could well be the fault of the cook.  Perhaps I left them a little too long in the oven.  Surprisingly, the meat did not taste in the least “gamey”, as we had imagined it might.  We will be interested to hear how the others cooked and enjoyed their duck breasts. 

My only other experience of eating duck was at the terribly posh Orsinis Restaurant in Cuba Street, Wellington,  many long years ago.  Goodness knows what the occasion was, or how we could afford it, as Orsinis was the ultimate fine dining restaurant at the time.  I was quite young, newly married, and terribly out of my depth and uncomfortable in such grand surroundings.  But I do remember that my duck tasted divine, and just melted in my mouth.