As it is well known, wild waterfowl have been valued by people who lived on modern Ukrainian lands since prehistoric times. Archaeologists find here ducks on paintings from the last Ice Age (2.6 million years ago – 11,700 years ago).[1]
Ukrainian ancestors hunted ducks in traps for delicious nutrient food, warm and lightweight down, and feathers. Actually, more than 2 000 years ago those birds were domesticated and wildly farmed in Kyiv Rus times (9th to the mid-13th century).
The Ukrainian name of the bird duck is “kachka”, most likely of sound-imitating origin associated with the exclamation “kah”.[2]
Duck roasted in apples with honey and herbs is a delicious Ukrainian dish, reconstructed and adapted to modern conditions by the traditional ethnic cuisine Etnocook.
Duck meat has a lot of benefits:
- a healthy source of protein (building and repairing the body’s cells, muscle, enhances the immune system,
- improves the overall health of skin, hair, nails). Besides, some of the proteins from duck meat act as enzymes
- duck skin provides a large concentration of an important amino acid glycine (good for skin health and wound healing, improves sleep quality), meat contains arginine and other amino acids
However, Etnocook warns you to pay additional attention to the quality of the duck meat, where the bird lived, and what it ate. Try to use only organic meat from ecological areas because some extremely toxic pollutants such as mercury can be poison duck meat.
To sum up, duck is a type of poultry that offers a moderate amount of protein. It’s a good source of B vitamins, selenium (a mineral that is kind of antioxidant), phosphorus, iron, zinc, and copper.
References
- Waterfowl Ecology and Management (1994) by Guy A. Baldassarre, Eric G. Bolen, D. Andrew Saunders, Pp. 3-6.
- Етимологічний словник української мови : у 7 т. : т. 2 : Д — Копці / Ін-т мовознавства ім. О. О. Потебні АН УРСР ; укл.: Н. С. Родзевич та ін ; редкол.: О. С. Мельничук (гол. ред.) та ін. — К. : Наукова думка, 1985. — Т. 2 : Д — Копці. — 572 с.
Ukrainian Recipe of Roasted Duck Meat, known since ancient times
- if needed butter is replaced by vegetable oil
- add garlic to taste, crushed or whole cloves
- check your meat with a thermometer, the breast internal temperature of done duck has to be over 140°F (60°C)
- for sauce stew sour apples with vegetables, add teaspoon honey, salt and spices
Ingredients of the Roast Duck with Apples, Honey and Ukrainian herbs
- duck - 1 whole duck, 4 kg ( 8.8 lb )
- apple - 2 medium (300 g)
- Optional
- salt - 4 g
- butter - 50 g
- lemon - 1 (58 g)
- honey - 50 g
- rosemary - fresh, 5 g
- parsley - 5 g
- grounded pepper - 4 g
Instructions:
Roast Duck Recipe Step One
Prepare all the ingredients, wash vegetables and greens, peel onions, rinse the duck in cold
Step two cut ingredients
Cut and core apples, slice lemons and onions, chop parsley
Step three prepare the duck
Make prolong not too deep cuts (max 0,5 cm deep) on the duck's skin with a sharp knife in a diagonal direction.
Step four rub the duck
Mix honey with salt, spices and melted butter. Rub the whole duck with it, including inside.
Step five stuff the duck with apples
Stuff the duck with apple quarters, lemons, onions and greens.
Step six leave the duck to marinate
Put some pieces of lemon and onions on top of the duck. Close the cavity tying legs together. Let the duck to rest for 2-10 hours, better for a night in the refrigerator
Step seven put the duck in foil
Put the meat in the centre of a foil. Wrap the meat properly from all sides
Step eight Roast duck
Preheat oven to 450F/230C, reduce the heat to 325 F/162 C and Roast the duck in foil for 2 hours (30 mins for a kilogram), and additionally 20 min uncovered for a crispy skin. Turn off the heat and let it rest for 10 min.
Step nine serve the duck with apples and herbs
Serve with apples and light sauce, with vegetable or whole grains. Excellent with dumplings Halushky, dumplings with filling Varenyky, popular Cossack warriors dish Teterya made of millet and buckwheat flour
Full step-by-step VIDEO Recipe