In cooking and gastronomy, duck or duckling is the meat of several species of bird in the family
Anatidae, found in both
fresh and
salt water. Duck is eaten in many
cuisines around the world. It is a high-
fat, high-
protein meat rich in
iron. Duckling nominally comes from a juvenile animal, but may be simply a
menu name.
Duck is particularly predominant in the Chinese cuisine—a popular dish is
Peking duck. Duck meat is commonly eaten with scallions, cucumbers and hoisin sauce wrapped in a small
spring pancake made of flour and water or a soft, risen bun known as
gua bao. In
Cantonese cuisine, the roasted duck or siu aap (燒鴨) is produced by
Siu meiBBQ shops; siu app is offered whole or in halves, and commonly as part of take-out with steamed white rice and vegetables. Siu app can also be served as part of the barbecue platter appetizer (the first of a ten-course Chinese banquet meal) in combination with
char siu (roasted pork),
soy sauce chicken,
yu chu (roasted suckling pig) or
siu yuk (roasted pig belly), and jellyfish.
The Pekin duck is also the most common duck meat consumed in the
United States, and according to the
USDA, nearly 26 million ducks were eaten in the U.S. in 2004.[citation needed] Because most commercially raised Pekins come from
Long Island,
New York, Pekins are also sometimes called "Long Island" ducks, despite being of Chinese origin. Some specialty breeds have become more popular in recent years, notably the
Muscovy duck, and the
mulard duck (a
sterile hybrid of Pekins and Muscovies).[9] Unlike most other
domesticated ducks, Muscovy ducks are not descended from
mallards.
Duck is used in a variety of dishes around the world, most of which involve roasting for at least part of the cooking process to aid in crisping the skin. Some dishes use parts of the duck as an ingredient along with other ingredients. Notable duck dishes include:
Balut is a developing bird
embryo boiled and eaten from the shell. It is sold as street-food in the Philippines and around
Southeast Asia.[11]
Bebek Betutu – a famous traditional dish from
Bali,
Indonesia. The duck is first seasoned with pungent roots and various herbs, wrapped with banana leaves, and roasted.
Duck confit – duck legs that have been
cured (partly or fully) in
salt, then
marinated and poached in duck fat, typically with
garlic and other herbs. The
French word confit means "preserved", and the French name for duck confit is "confit de canard".
Czernina – a sweet and sour
Polish soup made of duck blood and clear poultry broth. It was once considered a symbol of Polish culture until the 19th century, customarily served to young men and is even featured as a plot device in a famous epic poem called
Pan Tadeusz.
Duck à l'orange – a classic French dish in which the duck is roasted and served with an orange sauce.
Duck rice – A traditional Singaporean dish made of braised or roast duck and white rice
Duck Bhuna - a popular food in
Bangladesh and have several variants. Some of them are cooked with coconut milk, and some use
Chui Jhal to cook this item. It is served with rice or Roti.
Foie gras – a specially fattened and rich
liver, or a
pâté made from the liver, sometimes taken from a
goose but usually from a duck.
Long Island roast duckling – this is a whole roasted bird, sometimes brined previously. When done properly, most of the fat melts off during the cooking process, leaving a crispy skin and well-done meat. Some restaurants on
Long Island serve this dish with a cherry sauce.
Zhangcha duck – a quintessential dish of
Sichuan cuisine. It is first prepared by smoking a marinated duck over
tea leaves and twigs of the
camphor plant, then steamed, and finally deep fried for a crisp finish. Also called tea-smoked duck.
Possibility of pollution contaminating wild duck
An article in The New York Times in 1981 reported that ducks caught in the wild may be contaminated from pollution of rivers and other bodies of water, because they eat fish and other aquatic life. In particular,
PCBs may pose a health risk for those who eat wild duck frequently.[14][needs update]