1207.—DUCK, BRAISED WITH TURNIPS. (Fr.—Canard à la Nivernaise.)
Ingredients.—1 duck, 1 pint of good stock, larding bacon, ½ a glass of sherry, 3 young turnips, salt and pepper, mirepoix as in the preceding recipe, glaze.
Method.—Truss and lard the duck, and braise it as directed in the foregoing recipe. When cooked, brush over with warm glaze, and crisp the lardoons in the oven. Strain the stock and reduce it by rapid boiling until about half the liquid remains, then add the sherry, and season to taste. Have ready the turnips cut into dice, and cooked until tender. Place the duck on a hot dish, arrange the turnips in groups, pour the sauce round, and serve.
Time.—About 2 hours. Average Cost, 4s. 6d. to 5s. Sufficient, for 4 to 5 persons. Seasonable from August to March.
The Duck (Fr. Canard.)—This well-known bird is a member of the sub-family Anatidae, and is allied to the swans, geese, guillemots and gulls. There are numerous species of ducks which are found extensively distributed over most parts of the world. Their food is partly vegetable, partly animal, consisting of insects, larvae, and, in the domesticated state, of corn, maize, etc., worms and aquatic plants. Some species are migratory, flying in the summer season from warmer to colder regions. Their nests are constructed on the ground among the rushes on the margins of lakes or in marshy places. The male duck, or drake is distinguished from the female by its greater size, the recurved four middle feathers of its tail and the brighter colour of its plumage; the feathers of the female being of a more sombre tint, but during the moulting season in June and November the drakes more nearly resembles the ducks. Ducks are gregarious in their habits. The characteristic harsh quack of the duck is due to the curiously twisted conformation of the trachea or windpipe.
1208.—DUCK, FILLETS OF. (Fr.—Filets de Canard à la Bigarade.)
Ingredients.—1 good duck, ½ a pint of Bigarade sauce, No 226 (see Sauces), 2 small oranges, salad-oil, potato border, salt and pepper.
Method.—Singe, draw and truss the duck, and roast it in front of a clear fire or in a moderate oven until tender. Peel the oranges, separate them into their natural divisions, remove the pith and pips, warm over boiling water in a covered basin or between 2 plates and before serving mix with them a teaspoonful of salad-oil. Remove the breast from the duck, cut it into long fillets, arrange them neatly overlapping each other on a nicely-browned potato border, and pour the Bigarade sauce over. Pile the compote of oranges in the centre, and serve. The remainder the duck should be put aside, and afterwards converted into a salmi or hash (see recipes for same).
Time.—To roast the duck, from 40 to 60 minutes, according to size and age. Average Cost, 4s. to 6s. 6d. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.
The White Aylesbury Duck is a favourite bird for the table, its flesh being whiter and more delicate than that of other varieties.
The Buenos Ayres Duck is a very handsome bird, and is chiefly kept as an ornament for lakes and ponds in parks and the grounds of private mansions. Its prevailing colour is black with a metallic lusture, and a blue steel sheen on its breast and wings.
