Duck

Duck has been a favorite in the Lowcountry since colonial days. With the numbers of wild ducks decreasing each year, and bag limits reduced, I rarely see wild ducks at my table. All of these recipes have been cooked with the delicious Pekin varieties of ducks (more widely known as Long Island ducklings). Buy fresh ducks: since they’re very fatty, the birds are not drastically affected by freezing, but you will get the added bonus of giblets with a fresh duck. In larger cities, especially those with sizable Asian populations, you may even find fresh whole ducks with the heads still attached. Zooarchaeological digs in the Lowcountry have shown that domesticated ducks played an important role in the local cuisine before the Civil War. I hope these recipes will help bring them back into local favor; duck still seems to be the province of the restaurateur and the hunter.