This classic Eastern Shore dish was originally developed to highlight the quality of the Atlantic Flyway’s plentiful black ducks as table fare, though it’s just as good when made with mallards or other puddle ducks. A simple, hearty dish, it was born during a time when cooks often needed to stretch out a meal and make the most of the ingredients they had on hand.
If you’re interested in Eastern Shore history and cuisine, I strongly recommend reading Bernard Herman’s A South You Never Ate. It’s a charming, wistful book full of recollections from locals as well as both historic and current recipes for dishes that reflect the unique culture of the region. The chapter on black duck and dumplings, the first in the book, sets the tone, and it is a powerful and humorous lesson about the significance of food, memory, and tradition.
This version of the dish deviates from the classic in two ways. First, I add carrots, turnips, and herbs to round out the dish and highlight the quality of the Eastern Shore’s produce. Second are the dumplings. The oldest recipes call for dumplings that are heavy and not well suited to today’s tastes. The “slip dumplings” (which are unleavened) in this recipe are much more agreeable to a wider range of palates.
Use the best vegetables you can find; it makes a difference. And you really want to make this with a fat duck. While I’d argue that this dish should be made with a brackish black duck, any chunky duck with clean fat will work—mallards, woodies, whatever.
You will want to use a whole, plucked bird. You’re essentially making a broth and braising the bird at the same time. You need the bones to flavor the broth, and you need the fat to give it richness. At its core, it’s a very simple recipe: Braise the whole duck with onions, roll out the dumplings, and then cook them in the braise. It’s best served hot with some bread, a few hunting buddies, and the smell of the marsh fresh in your mind.
Duck and Dumplings
Cooking time: 2 hours
INGREDIENTS
- 1 duck, plucked (optional: heart and gizzard, cleaned and chopped)
- Salt and pepper
- 2 1/2 cups chopped onions
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 1/2 cups diced carrots
- 1 1/2 cups diced turnips
PREPARATION
1. Season the duck liberally with salt and pepper. Place in a Dutch oven with the onions and, if desired, the heart and gizzard. Add enough water to almost cover the duck (2 to 3 quarts). Add bay leaves and rosemary. Heat on medium until simmering, then cover and reduce heat to a slow simmer. Cook for an hour.
2. Meanwhile, make the dumpling dough. Mix the flour with the Old Bay and add about 3/4 cup of cold water. Mix with a fork until a loose dough forms, then use your hands to work the dough into a ball. Knead for 4 to 5 minutes until a firm ball forms, adding small amounts of water or flour as needed. The dough should be elastic and only slightly tacky but not sticky.
3. Roll out the dough to about 1/8-inch thickness and cut with a knife or pizza wheel into spoon-sized rectangles.
4. Add carrots and turnips to the Dutch oven and cook for an additional 30 to 45 minutes or until the duck meat is fork-tender. (Optional: Pull the duck from the Dutch oven and shred the meat from the bones. Discard the bones and place the meat back into the Dutch oven. If you want to skip this step, you can leave the whole duck in the Dutch oven and break it up with forks. Pulling the carcass out and shredding the meat just gives you a little more room to stir in the dumplings.)
5. Once the duck and vegetables are tender, add the dumplings one at a time and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Taste the broth and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve hot.
About the Author
Wade Truong started duck hunting almost 15 years ago, while he was also starting his career as a chef. He says that his early attempts at both hunting and running a kitchen were comical at best and hazardous to his health at worst. Since then, he has written for numerous conservation and outdoor publications, plucked plenty of birds, hasn’t gotten any better with a duck call, and is as obsessed with hunting and cooking as ever. You can find more recipes for waterfowl and other wild game on his website: elevatedwild.com.
