Duck, Duck…Sandwich

Duckling lets chicken take a break.

By Melanie Wolkoff

Call it a passive pleaser: Chicken—it’s rarely picked first in gym class, but isn’t a last resort. People like chicken. It’s comforting, recognizable and safe. It accepts virtually any cooking method and agrees with virtually every ingredient and flavor combination. Isn’t it time to let chicken rest? Sitting on the poultry-family sidelines is duck, which is up to the challenge of filling chicken’s shoes.

“I’ve always wondered why it’s taken so long for duck’s popularity to grow,” says Danny Bendas, managing partner of Synergy Consulting Group in Laguna Beach, Calif. “Duck is not that strong a flavored product, but much more so than chicken, which is more of a springboard for introducing flavor.”

David Bull, executive chef at the Driskill Bar & Grill in Austin, Texas, adds, “Duck has power. It can do spicy, sweet or sour.”

Duck possesses a rich, red-meat flavor. Unlike other red meats, however, duck is lean, and low in saturated fat. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) says skinless White Pekin duck breast is lower in fat and calories than skinless chicken breast, and is comparable in fat and calories to skinless turkey breast. That’s a pleasing fact to health-conscious diners.

If introducing duck on a menu seems risky, place it in menu specials or appetizers. “The cost per person for an appetizer is not as high as for an entrée. If people don’t like the dish, it won’t ruin their meal,” says Bendas, who recommends employing cooking methods to duck commonly applied to chicken. This way a consumer has a good understanding of what they’ll get when the dish arrives with duck playing the “chicken role.”

Bendas cites Wolfgang Puck’s pizza as a successful example of partnering a familiar dish with nontraditional ingredients. “Wolfgang Puck pioneered Asian pizza. People understood it was pizza with Asian ingredients, and made a leap of faith to try it. Consumers are willing to try new things if it’s not too way out or intimidating,” Bendas says.

Duck gets comfortable

Duckling sandwich applications fit the bill. Not convinced? What could be more familiar than a Sloppy Joe sandwich? That’s what Patrick McNamara, executive chef at The Club at Key Center in Cleveland, thought when he developed his duck-confit Sloppy Joe.

“This is a spinoff of a classic,” says McNamara. “I wanted guests to identify with childhood memories.” McNamara combines his duck-leg confit with tomatoes, garlic, shallots, raspberry vinegar, canola oil and rendered duck fat. After letting the mixture rest, he purées it, and serves it on egg-dough bread.

With no shortage of inspiration, McNamara turns left-over duck confit into ravioli, tamale or duck pot-pie filling, and finishes off risotto with it. He also creates housemade duck prosciutto, which appears in an open-faced sandwich.

To keep in check duck’s natural flavor with the flavors of the dish, McNamara advises to not put too much sauce on the duck or make the sauce overly spicy.

“I’ve always been a duck fan,” says Ted Cizma, a freelance chef/instructor based in Chicago. “It’s rich, aggressive and has good color and substance. It’s a bold ingredient, and with just enough cachet, it becomes an attraction. Whenever I do demos containing duck, it gets peoples’ attention.”

Using duck in sandwich applications is common play for Cizma, who builds a duck panini with grilled duck breast topped with arugula, Gruyère and pesto aioli. His chicken-salad-esque sandwich uses duck-leg confit meat, a homemade binder of mayonnaise flavored with smoked paprika, and finely minced celery root. Cizma finds grilled duck-breast meat fits snugly in flavored tortillas, combined with chipotle cream cheese and shredded cabbage.

For Cizma’s duck breast on brioche, he grills salt-and-pepper-seasoned duck breasts to medium. In a saucepan, he combines orange, ginger, red-pepper flakes, water, anisette and honey, and cooks over medium heat until reduced to a jam-like consistency. He adds thyme and tarragon. Then he melts butter in a saucepan with garlic, shallots and fresh herbs, and brushes the brioche with the butter mixture. Cizma slices the duck breast on the bias. He places a dab of blue cheese on the brioche, topped with a slice of duck breast and compote.

Not All Ducks Are the Same

There are many different breeds of duck, and they don’t all yield the same product.

White Pekin
The most popular breed found on menus, these ducks originated in China thousands of years ago and were brought to Long Island, once the center of the duck industry.

Muscovy
A duck breed with large, meaty males and smaller females, the Muscovy has a stronger flavor than White Pekin, and is often selected for its breast or liver, which is used for foie gras.

Moulard
A cross between a Muscovy and a White Pekin, the Moulard is larger and has a gamier taste than Pekin. It can be stringy and chewy. This breed is primarily selected for its liver for foie gras.

Mallard
This is a wild duck that is farm-raised on a limited basis. The Mallard is smaller and much tougher than Pekin. These ducks have very little fat, but are very greasy.

Source: Maple Leaf Farms

Duck goes barbecue

“Duck can be Asian-style, Southwestern style, French, Italian and so on,” says Rhys Lewis, food and beverage director of The American Club Resort Hotel in Kohler, Wis.

Duck takes on a Southern persona in Lewis’ duck-confit barbecue sandwich with cilantro coleslaw and Wisconsin-cheddar biscuits. The idea originated for a food-and-wine event held in Kohler.

“I thought about confit and thought about the South. What is truly American? A barbecue sandwich,” says Lewis. “Duck confit is a rich, sweet, delicious meat. It carries so much flavor just from the nature of preparation. It’s simmered in its own oil with garlic and herbs.”

For his confit, Lewis combines duck legs with kosher salt, garlic, apples and shallots in the refrigerator for a minimum of four hours. He drains off any liquid that sits in the bottom, and moves the ingredients to a pot, where he pours in one quart of duck fat and simmers uncovered for two hours.

“I find adding apples to the confit tenderizes the meat even further,” he says.

For the barbecue sauce, Lewis simmers together chili sauce, black pepper, ginger, dry mustard, garlic, chili powder, liquid smoke, light-brown sugar, apple-cider vinegar, brewed coffee, Worcestershire sauce and salt.

Duck confit’s long shelf life provides ample opportunities for Lewis, who uses it in strudels and turnovers and as wonton and spring-roll stuffing.

He even prepares a duck gumbo with leftover confit. “Gumbo has a smoked-sausage element, which duck becomes,” says Lewis. “It has the same flavor profile and authentic taste, but it’s perfect for people averse to pork products.”

Also a fan of marrying barbecue and duck, Bull prepares a barbecue-duck burrito over fiery corn cakes.

“Duck is incredible,” says Bull. He says it’s one of the true kinds of poultry that can be served medium rare. “It’s nice, rich and easy to cook,” he adds.

Duck confit plays into sandwich form for Bull's focaccia club sandwich with duck confit, roasted peppers, prosciutto and rosemary aioli.

“Basically, we had leftover duck confit from the dinner menu, and created a triple-decker club sandwich,” he says. “It became one of our biggest sellers.”

For the sandwich, Bull sautés duck legs skin-side down over medium heat until the skin crisps. He covers the duck legs with onions, garlic, celery and thyme, and pours in reserved duck fat and canola oil. He covers the dish with tin foil, and cooks at 225°F for three to four hours. After the legs cook and cool, he shreds the meat and places it on a toasted brioche with roasted red peppers and rosemary aioli. He tops prosciutto and mozzarella on the other half of the sandwich, stacking the pieces together club-sandwich style.

A new reputation

Why has duck taken so long to enter the cool clique? “Duck got a reputation for being greasy,” says McNamara. “It’s all about application. For those diners who are afraid to try it because of prior bad experiences, I tell them, ‘Try it again. You’ll like this.’”

“To eliminate misconceptions, get the product in diners’ mouths,” says Bendas. “Sauces, marinades and chutneys will neutralize any potentially off-flavors that consumers relate to duck.”

Another appealing aspect for operators: Duck’s cachet is worth more than its price. “A whole duck costs slightly more than a whole chicken, but it’s worth it,” says Cizma. “The yield is good, and duck has perceived value.”

“In the sandwich category, short of the vegetable item, on the low end, price-wise, is turkey or chicken. The higher-range items include seafood or steak. Duck falls below seafood or steak,” says Bendas.

For McNamara, duck always has a home on his menu. “I’ll always serve duck,” he says. “Duck rocks.”

Melanie Wolkoff is based in Louisville, Ky.