Duck With Cranberry-Bacon Wild Rice Recipe

A very tasty recipe for duck with cranberry-bacon wild rice

Serve this recipe for duck and cranberry-bacon wild rice with a side of roasted potatoes. (Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley photo)

Duck, cranberry and wild rice – all three ingredients grow near the water. Using leftover fresh cranberries from the holidays, wild rice I bought during my walleye-fishing trip to Minnesota in late spring, and ducks shot at the beginning of this fall, this is a recipe for the seasons.

The cranberries in the wild rice add a nice tartness that pairs well with dark, fatty duck. If you’ve never had wild rice before, you’ll find that it is firmer and chewier than white rice. It contains twice as much protein as brown rice and provides essential minerals and fewer calories. High in fiber, wild rice is also better for your digestive health.

If you’d like to pair this meal with wine, I suggest cabernet sauvignon, zinfandel, merlot, Beaujolais, shiraz, Sangiovese, Grenache and Tempranillo.

Serves: 4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients:

4 whole wood or teal ducks or 2 mallards
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 cup uncooked wild rice
6 cups beef broth
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
½ cup fresh (or frozen) cranberries, finely chopped or pulsed in a food processor
2 cloves garlic, minced
Brown sugar, to taste
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Bring beef broth to a boil and add wild rice. Cover and simmer for about 30-40 minutes or until the wild rice reaches desired tenderness. Depending on the brand of wild rice, cooking may take up to 1 hour. Drain excess broth and set aside. In another pan or skillet, render chopped bacon over medium heat. Next add chopped onion and sweat until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add chopped cranberries and rice. Season with brown sugar, salt and pepper to taste. (Use just enough brown sugar to balance out the cranberries’ tartness but don’t go overboard.) If desired, stir in butter to taste.

The tart cranberries in the wild rice pair well with the fatty duck meat. (Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley photo)

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Rinse ducks thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels. Liberally season skin and inside cavity with salt and pepper. Over medium-high heat, heat olive oil in a skillet and brown ducks on all sides. If desired, stuff the ducks with some rice before baking in oven for 10-15 minutes for medium-rare. Mix stuffed rice back in with regular rice. Serve ducks whole or breasted out for easier dining.