December 2023

TEXARKANA MAGAZINE

When you’re ready, here is what you will need to cook dry-aged duck steaks for four people... • 8 Mallard Duck Breast or 12 Teal or Wood ducks • salt and pepper or your favorite steak seasoning • cast-iron skillet or Blackstone • olive oil • a meat thermometer • aluminum foil • your family’s favorite side dishes (We love a side salad, asparagus, and twice baked potato!) Once your ducks have made it to room temperature, season the breasts on both sides. You’ll want to get your skillet as hot as possible. We like using a gas flame, but if you don’t have that, make sure the burner is on high. Add the olive oil to the skillet, just enough to coat the bottom (we’re not deep frying here). When the oil is hot, place your duck breasts in the skillet, skin sides down (beware of the oil popping). Leave the skin

side down for about 90 seconds or close to two minutes, then flip them over and do the same thing. After the flip, check the temperature with your meat thermometer. You should be getting close to 120 degrees internal temperature. If not, leave them in the skillet, still skin down, until you reach that temperature. Once they have hit 120 degrees, pull them off and lightly wrap them in foil, and let them finish cooking there. The temperature should rise to 125 or 130 degrees in about three to five minutes. Slice (across the grain) and serve. The duck will probably look a little on the rare side, but that’s where we think they taste best. If you want to cook them longer, go for it, but we would not recommend going past medium well. This process may sound crazy, and trust us, we were pretty skeptical at first, but if you are tired of having to work extra hard just to mask that duck flavor, give dry- aged duck steaks a try!

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COMMUNITY & CULTURE

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