Pressed duck

[Monello]

During a food conversation this dish came up. Is this something you would try?

a roasted duck. The whole duck -- and this includes all of the internal organs, particularly the heart and lungs of the beast, though the liver is removed and reserved -- is seasoned, the skin lightly scored, and then roasted. Some chefs, including Daniel Boulud, opt to marinate the duck for up to two days before roasting quickly over very high heat, until the duck is appropriately rare. The beautifully roasted bird is carried by the chef to the diners' table, where the rest of the elaborate process continues in full view of the restaurant's guests. The duck's magret (breasts) and legs are removed and reserved, and the chef uses poultry shears to cut the remaining carcass in half lengthwise.
Now comes the fun part.

The chef packs the roasted carcass and internal organs into the duck press, a large, squat, menacing piece of kitchen machinery, usually made from a heavy metal such as brass, with a large crank, a wheel, and four legs that are sometimes, in a delightfully morbid fashion, made to look like duck feet. Many people like to compare the object to a medieval torture device, and, if you get a chance to see one, you'd be hard "pressed" do disagree. The increasing pressure of the crank plate compacts the bird until its bones are pulverized, the organs liquified, and the carcass blood juices out of the animal, all of which sluice through a small spout in the duck press and are collected in a pan, then strained through a fine chinois. The chef then thickens the mixture with the pureed duck liver, adds Cognac and red wine, and reduces it carefully until it achieves a deep burgundy, almost black color. Diners are then treated to thin slices of the duck breast in the exquisite blood sauce, followed by a second course of roasted duck legs and thighs.

Pduck

 

[Larry Gude]

Personally, no. But, then, I eat hot dogs so....

It's pretty interesting what we will and won't eat based on seeing it prepared or not. I have a friend who deer hunts for food and he has zero issue shooting, field dressing and processing the animal all the way through. But, he can't stand the sight of blood on his steaks and we all joke that for cookouts we need to start his steaks the day before so they'll be ready.

 

[Larry Gude]

Actually, after watching the vids, it looks great. I'd try it. At least a bite.

 

[acommondisaster]

Twenty three years ago I spent a month in China as a guest of the government. Unless we went out to a restaurant in Beijing (which was kind of a hassle) we had meals prepared in our "state guest house". Every meal included duck in some form. In the morning it was duck eggs, at lunch there were usually some sort of sliced duck meats in a sauce and at night....yeah....more duck. The food was a sad blend of what they must have thought was American Food and local Chinese "stuff". To this day, I cannot eat duck.

http://www.chinadyt.com/en/about/

I should mention that this compound we stayed on was beautiful - small guest houses all around a pretty man made lake....and in that lake....what seemed like a diminishing flock of....DUCKS.

 

[itsbob]

Twenty three years ago I spent a month in China as a guest of the government. Unless we went out to a restaurant in Beijing (which was kind of a hassle) we had meals prepared in our "state guest house". Every meal included duck in some form. In the morning it was duck eggs, at lunch there were usually some sort of sliced duck meats in a sauce and at night....yeah....more duck. The food was a sad blend of what they must have thought was American Food and local Chinese "stuff". To this day, I cannot eat duck.

http://www.chinadyt.com/en/about/

I should mention that this compound we stayed on was beautiful - small guest houses all around a pretty man made lake....and in that lake....what seemed like a diminishing flock of....DUCKS.

Duck eggs are the BEST over easy eggs..