If you are from Louisiana, you already know what Fricasse is.
For those of you who are thinking a “Frica-what?!”, let me fill you in. A fricasse is basically a stew. It’s meat (usually chicken) that is slow-cooked in chicken stock until it falls off the bone.
I can remember my grandma in Lafayette making chicken fricasse on a Sunday afternoon. It seems like no matter what she was cooking, she would let it simmer on the stove alllllll day long until dinnertime. It’s the cajun way.
However, today, we are gonna switch it up and make a duck fricasse. For this recipe, I used 3 whole wood ducks that we had in the freezer. I think any duck would work for this recipe. You can even quarter the duck into smaller chunks if you’d like.
Shall we?
Step 1: Brown your Meat
I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Shhh don’t tell anyone. Rub a thin layer of flour onto your meat before seasoning it.
Heat olive oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. You want your oil to be hot hot hot before adding in your meat.
Sear meat on each side until a golden crust forms (usually takes about 3 minutes each side). Tip that I learned from my mom is you don’t move your meat once you add it to the pan. This helps form that crust. Drop the meat in the oil and don’t touch it for about 3 minutes until you want to flip it.
Once your meat is browned on all sides, remove and set aside on a plate for now.
Step 2: Cook Veggies
In the same pan, turn the heat down to medium-low and add in 3tbsp butter, 1 chopped onion and 1 chopped bell pepper.
Once the veggies have softened, add in 4 minced garlic cloves and let cook only until fragnant. Do not burn! (I’ve done that”
You can also add a little more flour and olive oil to the pan at this point and stir. Don’t let it burn but you want the flour flavor to cook out a little bit so let cook for a few minutes together. This flour will thicken the gravy up a little bit.
Step 3: Assemble and Simmer
Now add the duck meat back to the pot along with 4-6 cups of chicken stock, salt, pepper, and cajun seasoning.
Cover and turn the heat to medium-low to simmer for 2-2.5 hours.
Et Voila! How simple is that? You put the work in on the front end so that in 2.5 hours, you have fall-off-the-bone tender meat.
Serve over rice with a side of fried okra and fresh garden tomatoes and cucumbers. Now that’s a good dinner.
Duck Fricasse Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 Whole Wild Ducks
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 1 bell pepper chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 4-6 cups chicken stock
- 2 tbsp flour
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
- 1 pinch cajun seasoning
Instructions
- First, rub duck meat with a layer of flour and then season with salt, pepper, and some cajun seasoning.
- Heat olive oil in a large pot
- Brown duck meat on all sides. About 3 minutes each side until golden brown then set aside.
- Lower heat and add butter, onion, and bellpepper to pot.
- One softened, add garlic to cook 1 minute.
- Add 1 tbsp of flour and stir cooking for another couple of minutes.
- Add duck meat back to pot along with chicken stock and a pinch of salt, pepper, and cajun seasoning.
- Cover and simmer on low for 2-2.5 hours until meat is falling off the bone.
- Serve over rice and enjoy!
If you have a hunter in the family, and need a new wild duck recipe. Give this one a try!