Stop by Dry Lake Hunting Service’s lodge almost any time during duck season and you’ll find Angela Chapman in the kitchen cooking big, hearty meals for the duck hunters that flock to Stuttgart each season.
A self-proclaimed “unschooled chef” and a former duck hunter, Chapman has worked with Dry Lake and its owner, Jay Coker, for about six years. She attributes her talent to her Italian heritage and a passion for cooking. “I put love in my food,” she says, “and that’s what makes it different.”
Her made-from-scratch specialties include mouthwatering Southern favorites like biscuits and gravy, chili-cheese omelets, shrimp and grits, duck gumbo, roasted quail, ribs and jambalaya. Chapman’s food is so loved by the hunters who frequent the lodge that she and Coker have joked they should change their tagline to, “You come for the ducks, you stay for the food.”
Chapman says you do not need to marinate meat to make it tender. You can take any meat, no matter the cut, season it and let it get to room temperature and it will be great.
Go see her. Seriously. She’ll whip up a mean meal for you. But in the meantime, enjoy her recipe for a delicious duck appetizer that has received rave reviews among even the most stringent duck meat naysayers.
DUCK APPETIZER
Ingredients –
For the duck:
Duck breasts
Non-seasoned meat tenderizer
Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning OR Zatarain’s Blackened Seasoning
1 cup vegetable oil
For the sauce:
24 oz. sour cream
One package of Hidden Valley Ranch powdered dressing
A handful of real bacon bits
Milk to taste and consistency
Directions –
For the duck:
1. If using frozen duck breasts, let them thaw completely. After thawed, sprinkle with a non-seasoned meat tenderizer and Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning on both sides, or, if you prefer a spicier meat, Zatarain’s Blackened Seasoning only on one side. Allow meat to rest outside of the refrigerator and get to room temperature. To obtain the proper tenderness, it’s important to let meat rise to room temperature before cooking.
2. Pour vegetable oil in the bottom of a skillet and heat to medium-hot. Place seasoned duck breast in skillet and cook till desired doneness, turning meat every few minutes.
3. Remove meat from skillet and slice breasts diagonally into pieces, about the width of a finger. Stick toothpicks in each piece.
For the sauce:
1. Blend sour cream with ranch mix and fold in bacon bits. Add milk to taste and consistency.
2. Dip duck meat into sauce or pour the sauce over duck. Enjoy!
