Waterfowl Treat - “Duck Wings”
If you’ve followed along with any of my social media you are aware I really enjoy cooking wild game (especially with Reel n Smoke and Zipsauce). Almost all the plant and animal protein we eat at home comes from game/fish I’ve harvested. With the exception of chicken and chicken nuggets of course. The kiddos love chicken nugget so there’s no way around that! As the years go I find more ways to utilize the game I’ve harvested. There is so much more information out there now about using different parts of an animal. A lot of credit goes to the Meat Eater crew, Hank Shaw, and various other chefs out there who have worked hard to get the word out. It has really made me hard about ways to utilize as much of an animal as possible.
One of the most underutilized game types is waterfowl. It’s easy to peel the skin away and breast them out. It certainly takes a lot more work to get at some other parts like legs. But that extra time invested has some major rewards. I haven’t experimented with diver duck legs in this recipe but it certainly works for all puddle ducks.
You are going to need a decent amount of ducks to make a meal out of this so save the legs/thighs throughout the season. It works best for me to vacuum seal them. When you are ready to make this recipe take them out the night before and let them thaw in the fridge. You can quickly brown them or skip right to the slow cooker step. Prepare a slow cooker with some beef broth or bouillon cubes and whatever spices you want in there. I haven’t settled on anything in particular yet but I do like to add something to give it a little heat. Pro tip with slow cooking is to always add beer but never the whole bottle/can for obvious reasons. Put the top on and let them simmer for 3-4 hours. This is going to break down all the tough tendons and turn an otherwise tough piece of meat into something that is very tender. If you were to cook them longer I would be worried about the meat falling off the bone and that would make the rest of the recipe difficult.
Now for the fun part. Who doesn’t love a good chicken wing? It is time to get the deep fryer hot. While that’s heating up roll the duck legs in some Drake’s with Reel n Smoke seasoning. This will provide a good base flavoring and a little crunch. Drop them in the oil until crispy (usually just a couple minutes). Then eat them dry or my favorite way is to toss in sauce. I usually have Bold n Sassy Reel n Smoke BBQ sauce and some Buffalo sauce on hand.
It makes a great appetizer if you are entertaining or just a fun family meal to break up the monotony of the week.