Stinking Duck?
I got an urgent text message from my aunt last Friday: "Cooked duck for Xmas eve. Repainting kitchen to rid of stench. DON'T ATTEMPT DUCK INDOORS. Find BBQ recipe." I've never made duck before but figured this weekend would be a good opportunity since my roommate is away for the holidays. I don't want to irreparably stink up my small apartment, did my aunt do something horribly wrong or is this actually an issue?
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7 Comments:
The aroma of fat lingers, but duck fat is no more remarkable in its odor than chicken or pork. Mutton is something some folks find unpleasant, but not duck. If you're gonna cook it on a grill, don't put it directly over the coals, with all the lovely fat that drips off. (If you're roasting, you should be taking off the extra fat and saving it for cooking potatoes in.) I'm not sure what she did, but of course, not everyone's taste in what's nasty and what's nice is the same.
lemons at 10:01AM on 12/29/08
I've never had a problem with duck odors and I tend to roast duck at high temperature. There might be something else amiss with your aunt's duck. :( Did anyone get sick? Could some of the fat have spilled onto the oven floor somehow and really caused a burning fat stench? (Which would be attributable to the fat splashing and not really the duck.)
therealchiffonade at 10:06AM on 12/29/08
I frequently roast duck, usually low and slow. Never had a problem...always smells great!
1stmakearoux at 11:10AM on 12/29/08
I've cooked duck in a wok (steaming it) as well as on a grill (indirect heat with a pan underneath it). Never an issue with any sort of odd smells. Matter of fact I plan on cooking duck for news years. So I am going to stand in the "aunt did something horribly wrong" camp.
My guess is that she didn't know that duck is very fatty and dripping fat was getting on hot surface and burning.
bravian at 11:17AM on 12/29/08
I do duck pretty often. In the rotisserie, in the oven, and in a cast iron pan on the stove top too. Something went wrong.
simon at 12:36PM on 12/29/08
I roast duck periodically and use a rack in a deeper roaster with just enough water in the bottom to keep the dripping fat from burning. In the end I save the copious amount of accumulated treasure and add it into whatever form of fat that I would normally use to fry potatoes. Adds a whole new dimension to the end product. I've never had a smell issue. I'll join the crowd who suspects burning fat...
czken at 1:16PM on 12/29/08
I sometimes dab a little duckfat behind the ears.... drives the wife..... well it drives the wife away actually, but I kinda like it!
As for the smell of Duck fat, it's no worse than pork fat... and I second the saving of said fat for frenchfries or the roasted potatoes as suggested by lemons and czken.
Pavlov at 10:16PM on 12/29/08