Duration
2 hours
Serves
4 to 6
Routeed ducks is a name of a recipe that is hyper-local to the south Lafourche parish in southeastern Louisiana. I grew up 45 minutes north, and I never knew this recipe to be called by this name.
The common vernacular in south Louisiana considers this recipe to be a “rice and gravy” recipe. The liquid which the ducks cooks in is meant to be used as a gravy on top of a various array of starches. In Louisiana, rice is king. Typically this dish is served along with steamed white rice.
We often called this preparation smothered ducks, but I learned a couple of tricks from Ronnie Collins, a sportsman who we hunted with on this episode of MeatEater. This recipe is my "red bird" interpretation of what we cooked while staying at Ronnies houseboat.
To watch Steve, Ronnie, and I shoot some birds in the Louisiana mud, click here.
Ingredients
- 5 whole ducks, halved
- 2 large yellow onions, small diced
- 2 stalks celery, small diced
- 2 bell peppers, small diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 bay leaves
- 10 oz. mushrooms, cleaned
- 8 oz. red wine
- 2 qt. duck or chicken stock
- 8 sprigs thyme, tied in a bundle
- Salt and cracked pepper
- 4 oz. cooking oil
- 12 oz. reserved stock for adding during the cooking process
Also works with
Special equipment
Preparation
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a large, iron pot, add half your oil and turn to high. Add split ducks, fat side down to the hot oil, and brown on all sides.
- Remove ducks from the pot and add mushrooms and the rest of the oil. Roast mushrooms in the pot until brown, about 15 minutes on medium-high heat. Next add onions, celery, bell pepper, bay leaves, and garlic. Sauté on medium to medium-high heat for 15 minutes, making sure to scrape fond (brown bits) from the bottom of the pot.
- Add red wine to deglaze and cook until the wine has fully reduced. Add duck stock and bring to a boil. Place ducks back in the pot in a single layer along with the thyme bundle. Cover and place in oven.
- Every thirty minutes, remove the pot from the oven, check the liquid (adding more if needed), and flip the ducks. Depending on what kind of ducks you’re cooking this process can go for 1½ to 2 hours. Careful that during the last 30 to 45 minutes you are not being too rough on the ducks so that you don’t get excessive bones in your gravy.
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(1)Routeed ducks is a name of a recipe that is hyper-local to the south Lafourche parish in southeastern Louisiana. I grew up 45 minutes north, and I never knew this recipe to be called by this name.
The common vernacular in south Louisiana considers this recipe to be a “rice and gravy” recipe. The liquid which the ducks cooks in is meant to be used as a gravy on top of a various array of starches. In Louisiana, rice is king. Typically this dish is served along with steamed white rice.
We often called this preparation smothered ducks, but I learned a couple of tricks from Ronnie Collins, a sportsman who we hunted with on this episode of MeatEater. This recipe is my "red bird" interpretation of what we cooked while staying at Ronnies houseboat.
To watch Steve, Ronnie, and I shoot some birds in the Louisiana mud, click here.
Ingredients
- 5 whole ducks, halved
- 2 large yellow onions, small diced
- 2 stalks celery, small diced
- 2 bell peppers, small diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 bay leaves
- 10 oz. mushrooms, cleaned
- 8 oz. red wine
- 2 qt. duck or chicken stock
- 8 sprigs thyme, tied in a bundle
- Salt and cracked pepper
- 4 oz. cooking oil
- 12 oz. reserved stock for adding during the cooking process
Also works with
Special equipment
Preparation
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a large, iron pot, add half your oil and turn to high. Add split ducks, fat side down to the hot oil, and brown on all sides.
- Remove ducks from the pot and add mushrooms and the rest of the oil. Roast mushrooms in the pot until brown, about 15 minutes on medium-high heat. Next add onions, celery, bell pepper, bay leaves, and garlic. Sauté on medium to medium-high heat for 15 minutes, making sure to scrape fond (brown bits) from the bottom of the pot.
- Add red wine to deglaze and cook until the wine has fully reduced. Add duck stock and bring to a boil. Place ducks back in the pot in a single layer along with the thyme bundle. Cover and place in oven.
- Every thirty minutes, remove the pot from the oven, check the liquid (adding more if needed), and flip the ducks. Depending on what kind of ducks you’re cooking this process can go for 1½ to 2 hours. Careful that during the last 30 to 45 minutes you are not being too rough on the ducks so that you don’t get excessive bones in your gravy.