COOKING WILD DUCKS. 449 



COOKING WILD DUCKS. 



Eoasting on tlie spit is the only admissible way for cooking 

 Wild Fowl of any kind, with the exception, perhaps, of Teal, 

 which may be broiled on the gridiron. 



Those Ducks that are fishy alone require any kind of stuffing, 

 and when stuffing is necessary to render them palatable, we 

 consider a Puddle-Duck quite their equal, if not superior. 



Ducks ought to be roasted on the spit, and never baked in 

 an oven, as is too frequently done by careless and ignorant 

 Cooks. Baking renders them dry, rank, and tasteless, while 

 roasting makes them juicy and tender. 



Cooks are not generally partial to the cooking of game, as it 

 is oftentimes attended with a good deal of extra labor (picking 

 and cleaning the birds, &c.), and, if not closely watched, will 

 deceive their employers as to the mode of cooking it. They 

 find it at times much more convenient to put a couple of Ducks 

 in an oven to bake, than on the spit, owing to the low state of 

 the fire, or to the circumstance that the spit is used for some 

 other purpose far less necessary. When this is done, the Fowls 

 are sure to be spoiled. 



Ducks require but a short time to roast, and, when cut into, 

 from every pore should exude a rich and high-colored blood ; 

 this will not be the case if the Fowl be cooked too much, or 

 baked in an oven. There should always be sufficient of its own 

 drippings to baste it with ; if not, however, a little butter, and 

 a little port or Madeira, will not in such cases harm them. 



It will require about twenty-five to thirty-five minutes to pro- 

 perly roast a Canvass-Back. It should be served up with fresh 

 crisp celery, potatoes mashed and baked, or plainly roasted. 



Some persons like currant-jelly with these Ducks. We do 

 not; nor do we relish them so well when half-roasted, and 

 finished on the chafing-dish, with jelly, &c. We much prefer 

 them perfectly au naturel. Canvass-Backs should neither be 

 picked nor drawn till they are going to be cooked, nor should 

 they be soaked in water; in fact, they should not even so 

 much as be washed out after being cleaned. Other kinds of 

 Wild Duck, less delicate, may be picked, and soaked in water 

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