Chad Love: Best Tasting Ducks

OK, waterfowl hunters, here’s a question for you: if you had a chance to hand over one of your ducks to a world-class chef and have him turn it into a meal fit for the most discriminating of gourmands, what species of duck would you choose?

Believe it or not, this isn’t a hypothetical question, at least for California duck hunters.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – With fall duck hunting season about to take flight, Sacramento’s own Grange Restaurant & Bar is giving area hunters the chance to bring their (dearly departed) feathered friends into the restaurant and pay respects in delicious style as part of an exclusive four-course meal prepared by acclaimed Executive Chef Michael Tuohy. As the ducks make their fall pilgrimages across …

_… the Pacific Flyaway, a select few will have a “shot” at becoming part of this memorable dining experience. Beginning October and continuing through January, hunters are able to bring their bounty into Grange 48 hours prior to dinner reservations. Not one to take the birds’ sacrifice lightly, Chef Tuohy will meet with each hunter and then create an amazing dinner menu, ensuring that the birds do not meet their delicious fates in vain. With a final “bill” of only $75 per person, local hunters would be “quacks” to miss out on the repast.

A leader in California’s Slow Food movement, Chef Tuohy selects from seasonal and locally grown ingredients, nearly all of which are found within 100 miles of Sacramento. “This is the perfect opportunity to provide guests with a unique dining experience that celebrates the bounty of California and lives up to our mission of providing the best this region has to offer,” said Tuohy. “We take great pride in being on the forefront of this Slow Food movement in Northern California, and our American Brasserie inspired menu options change daily to reflect this commitment.”_

How cool is that? You make your reservations, go shoot a duck (hopefully), take it straight to the restaurant, kick back in your waders, have a drink and before you know it you’re being served a four-star epicurean delight. You kill it. We cook it, but with style and panache. I think it’s a brilliant idea and I’d gladly pay $75 for the opportunity to sit amongst a crowd of upscale diners, smug in the knowledge I was the only one gnoshing on something that I’d personally killed that morning.

But what duck to take? It would have to be something special. I’ve eaten pretty much everything, and if you asked me what my favorite-eating duck is, I’d say teal, but that’s not what I’d hand over. Oh, no. Why? Too easy. Anyone can make a teal delicious. Real chefs like a challenge, so when I walked through the door I’d have a common merganser on my duck strap. OK, Chef Tuohy, let’s see what you can do with that…