Made from sustainably raised Moulard ducks on what we believe to be the nation’s finest vertically integrated duck farm and processing operation, these duck breasts are incredibly tender and satisfying, with just the right amount of fat to yield an excellent base for whatever’s next in the pan, but not so much to spoil their clean, elegant character. Dry aged for a full week before packaging, these selections have a superbly concentrated, intense flavor. Whether seared, braised, grilled, or smoked, this is our go-to duck cut for its versatility and ease of preparation.
Based in Sullivan County, Upstate New York, our duck partners give an incredible amount of care to their birds, from breeding to feeding to slaughter. Few consumers are aware of the disproportionate difficulty in ethically raising waterfowl without antibiotics, or the amount of space and attention required to ensure that ducks have ample space to roam and feed without irresponsible exposure to disease introduction from migratory relatives. In order to optimize their birds’ dispositions to these circumstances, these Moulards sustain a careful lineage originating from a hybrid of Pekin hens and Muscovy drakes, balancing ideal traits for size, fat content, mobility, digestion, and demeanor. From there, the ducks are raised significantly longer than the majority of American chickens, spending their final twenty five days before harvest experiencing the eminently complex and controversial period of gavage -- deliberately feeding the birds more than they would otherwise ingest, fattening their liver for the development of foie gras. Regardless of feelings toward the practice itself, our partners have developed and refined the least intrusive means of administering this feeding process that we have ever seen anywhere in the world. Every duck’s esophagus is carefully monitored before its daily feeding to ensure it is not bulging or uncomfortably saturated, and the birds are then fed a precise amount of corn and soy through a plastic tube that slides into their gullets. After twenty five days of this process, the ducks are stunned before being slaughtered, hung to air dry, and then portioned into various foie gras formats as well as breasts, legs, confit, and other finished renditions.
~2lbs
Upstate NY
