| |
|
Spit-Roasted Wild Ducks With Olives
|
|
|
| What You Need: |
|
|
|
Two 1½-to 2-pound oven-ready wild ducks, with necks, gizzards and hearts coarsely chopped and reserved
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup finely chopped onions
2 tablespoons flour
1½ cups chicken stock, fresh or canned
¼ cup finely chopped pitted green olives
12 whole pitted green olives
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| How To Cook: |
|
|
1. Light a 1- to 2-inch-thick layer of briquettes in a charcoal grill equipped with a rotating spit. Let the coals burn until white ash appears on the surface. (This may take as long as an hour.)
|
2. Meanwhile, wash the ducks briefly under cold running water and pat them dry with paper towels. Season the ducks inside and out with the salt, then secure the neck skin to the back of each bird with a small skewer and truss the ducks securely. String the ducks lengthwise end to end on the spit and anchor them in place with the sliding prongs.
|
3. Fit the spit into place above the coals and roast the birds for 1½ to 2 hours. To test for doneness, pierce a thigh with the point of a small sharp knife. The juice that trickles out should be pale yellow; if it is still tinged with pink, roast the ducks for another 5 to 10 minutes.
|
4. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. In a heavy 10- to 12-inch skillet, melt the butter in the oil over moderate heat. When the foam begins to subside, add the chopped necks, gizzards and hearts.
|
5. Fry the duck giblets for 4 or 5 minutes, stirring them frequently and regulating the heat so that the pieces brown richly and evenly without burning. Add the onions and, when they color lightly, mix in the flour.
|
6. Then, stirring constantly, pour in the stock in a slow, thin stream and cook over high heat until the sauce comes to a boil and thickens slightly. Add the chopped olives, reduce the heat to low, and simmer the sauce partially covered for 30 minutes.
|
7. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve set over a small saucepan, pressing down hard on the giblets and olives with the back of a spoon to extract all their juices before discarding the pulp and neck bones. Skim as much fat as possible from the surface of the sauce and taste for seasoning.
|
|
8. To serve, remove the spit from the grill, unscrew the prongs and slide the ducks onto a heated platter. Remove the trussing strings, and garnish the birds with the whole olives. Reheat the sauce over low heat if necesaryand serve it from a gravy boat or sauce bowl.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
