Teal Tacos?

Yes! Let’s look at the history of a taco. No, they were not invented at a late night fast food chain for drunk college students. And if you’ve ever eaten a taco at such a establishment, you loose all sincerity scoffing at the idea of a “duck” taco.

The word “taco” roughly translates to sandwich and has origins that go back thousands of years in Meso-America. Tacos started simply as tortillas(made from corn or flour) wrapped in whatever meat early Mexicans could get their hands on. And in some respect, a very clever way to eat without utensils. So the fairly recent craze of expanding the taco’s contents to fish, isn’t something new. I’m sure the Aztecs beat you to that a long time ago.

The essence of Mexican cuisine for me is freshness. Local meats complimented by extremely fresh, bright ingredients: tomatoes, onions, avocados, peppers, cilantro, lettuce, etc. All things that can be grown in your backyard garden. So really, a duck taco is more traditional than its conventional late night greasy ground beef counterpart. And for that matter, deer tacos would be just as legitimate.

Teal Taco Recipe:
2-4 fillets brined and grilled teal (any wild duck, wood duck, mallard, etc)
1 tomato
1 yellow onion
1 Cup shredded cheese
Cilantro
Sour cream
Guacamole



Wet Rub
¼ cup freshly cracked pepper
1 tbs Worchestershire sauce
Brine
4 cups water
¼ cup montreal steak seasoning

Now that we an understanding of what a taco is, lets talk preparation. The secret to any wild game is brining. Brining allows for a deeper penetration of flavor than a marinade, and makes cooking game a little more forgiving considering its lack of fat. The basic recipe of a brine is water and salt. 1 cup of salt for 1 gallon. Or ¼ cup salt for 1 quart.

I prefer to clean and cook my ducks the same day I shot them, only because I can’t think that far ahead. And I would rather spend 6-8 hours brining my duck adding flavor, than waiting for it to thaw. But for those of who you have the foresight to tomorrow’s dinner, just thaw before brining.

So the first step is filleting the breasts. I save the flank feathers for fly tying, and freeze the breast bone, legs, and feet. Yes, feet. I’d wash them pretty thoroughly first. Ducks aren’t the cleanliest birds out there. So at the end of the season you’ll have a freezer full of duck parts perfect for making duck demi glace. Something you would pay an exorbitant amount of money for in a restaurant, if you could find it. Then the fillets go into the brine.

My brine is: 1quart water and 1/4cup montreal steak seasoning.
(there’s plenty of salt in that mixture to act as a brining agent, plus it gives you whatever other flavorful goodness is in there)
Brine for 6-8 hours, then rest for 2-4 hours. Resting allows the brine to fully disperse throughout the meat.

Once brined, make a wet rub of freshly cracked pepper and Worchestershire sauce.
Coat the fillets with the rub and grill fillets to medium rare, rest, and slice thinly.

Fill flour tortillas with shredded cheese, thinly sliced duck, diced tomatoes and onion.
Top with guacamole, sour cream, caramelized onions and cilantro.