Duck meat can be intriguing. First, because while it is a bird and therefore one would think that it would be close to say chicken among the animals that are reared at home it is not. You are better off considering it a version of red meat. Even then though, duck will have significantly more fat.
There are other reasons like these and together they make it difficult to among other things know what side dish works well with duck. Unfortunately, this is a turn off for most yet if they could care to go a little more, they would be very much mesmerized by their discoveries.
This article is an effort in helping to change this trend and luckily, you are one of those that wish to learn rather than give up. And so, I have selected for you twenty of the best side dishes to reward you.
Spiced Sweet Potato Fries with Mayonnaise
You will find this recipe fun if you love a bit of earthy taste. It is also pretty great when it comes to fiber content. The ingredients are olive oil, sweet potato fries, water, pepper, and seasoning. It is important that your fries are even if at all they are going to come out well. Moreover, you could opt for potato discs instead of fries.
To prepare, start by cutting the potatoes into fries. Now add Italian seasoning, olive oil, pepper, and salt. Toss to make sure that the fries are coated with everything else. Place on a baking tray and bake for half an hour. Flip the fries fifteen minutes into the process to make sure that they all come out brown.
Whipped Sweet Potatoes
Duck has a thing for sweet potatoes. So let us look at yet another sweet potato recipe. The ingredients are; heavy cream, sweet potatoes, nutmeg, pepper, sea salt, and butter. Meanwhile, you could turn your butter into brown butter by heating it in a skillet prior to using it in the recipe. That allows for extra flavor.
To make the recipe, chop the potatoes into considerable chunks. Boil them. Once ready, reduce the heat and wait for another twenty minutes until they become tender.
Now drain the potatoes and transfer them to a food processor. Add pepper, nutmeg, sea salt, butter, and heavy cream. Whip. If you do not have a processor, then you can use a fork, hand mixer, or an immersion blender.
Best Roasted Brussels Sprouts Recipe
Prepared appropriately, this side dish will accompany most meals pretty well not least duck. The necessary ingredients are; pepper, Brussels sprouts, salt, and olive oil.
It is best that you use fresh Brussels sprouts i.e. do not go with ones that are wilted. If at all your sprouts are frozen, then thaw them prior to using them.
To prepare, transfer all ingredients to a bowl. Toss thoroughly to ensure proper coating. Transfer to a baking sheet and then to an oven. Roast for at least twenty minutes.
To serve, add more salt if you feel the need to and then accompany with parmesan. It is always better to eat the sprouts while they are still warm.
Air Fryer Blooming Onion
Traditional deep-fried blooming onions would ordinarily be the recipe here but those are rather unhealthy so this recipe comes in. The ingredients are; seasoning, onions, and coating. Suggestions for seasoning include; cilantro, paprika, cayenne pepper, chili powder etc. Suggestions for coating include; cornflakes, bread crumbs, and panko.
To prepare, cut off the onions top and then cut it into several wedges without separating them at the bottom though. Place it on a plate and make it appear like a bloom.
Mix flour and seasoning and separately, butter, milk, and egg. Sprinkle/pour the two mixtures over the onion one after the other. Follow them with coating and then. Now place in an air fryer basket and cook for at least twenty minutes.
Air Fryer Butternut Squash
Squash is such a nutrient food so why not take advantage of it? It is rich in Vitamins A, C, and E. The ingredients for this recipe are; honey, butternut squash, and seasoning. To make the recipe vegan, substitute honey with coconut or maple syrup instead.
To prepare, cut the butternut squash into even cubes. Place them in the air fryer basket and spray with cinnamon. Coat with cooking spray as well. Cook for a little over twenty minutes. Once ready, sprinkle honey on the squash and then serve.
Note that other kinds of squash may also be employed in just the same way described. Suggestions are pumpkin squash and acorn squash.
Oven Baked Potato Wedges with Ketchup
This side dish especially comes in handy if you want to get it done with quickly and start on your duck. The ingredients include; parmesan cheese, garlic powder, potatoes, salt, and olive oil. I especially recommend Russet potatoes as best.
To prepare, add onion powder, salt, olive oil, garlic powder, parmesan cheese, and pepper in a plastic bag. Mix for thorough combining. Add the potatoes, seal and then shake.
Obviously, the bag should not have holes in it. Upon proper coating, remove the potatoes and place on a baking sheet and then into the oven.
Bake until they are soft enough to be poked with a fork. Serve with ketchup, mayo, and mustard.
Orange Sauce Recipe
If you know orange tofu or vegan orange chicken already, this recipe is what is used in making both. The ingredients include; soy sauce, rice vinegar, water, cornstarch, maple syrup, and brown sugar. You can make the side dish vegan by adopting vegan soy sauce.
To prepare, heat olive oil in a sauce span. Add minced ginger and garlic and stir regularly to avoid burning. Add brown sugar, soy sauce, maple syrup, orange juice, and rice vinegar after a little while. Separately, mix cornstarch and water and then add it to the heating mixture. Whisk until thickening.
Not that orange sauce is not spiced. If you want a bit of that, then you should adopt red pepper flakes too.
Instant Pot Brown Rice and Vegetables
This recipe can be done with any of your favorite vegetables. Some suggestions for you away from those adopted here include; cauliflower and bell peppers. The ingredients then include; water chestnuts, brown rice, zucchini, and banana squash. The darker the zucchini used the better.
To prepare, chop the vegetables. Now add rice and vegetable broth to the pot and cook for ten minutes. Now add to them broccoli, carrots, chestnuts, zucchini, pepper, and salt.
Cook for another two minutes. Look out for natural release and thereafter mix the vegetables. Serve the dish.
This side dish can be stored for at least one more day. Place in an airtight container and refrigerate.
Blistered Tomatoes
In very few instances are cherry tomatoes at the heart of a dish, well this side dishes just does that making it special in taste. The ingredients are; garlic, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, and salt. You may use avocado oil or canola oil instead of olive oil though olive oil will always be better. Ripe tomatoes are the best for this.
To prepare, heat olive oil at medium heat. Add garlic next, sauté until golden. Add the cherry tomatoes and season with salt. Wait for ten minutes or fifteen. Add basil leaves.
Do not rush the process especially after placing in the tomatoes. This is because you want to have a blistering effect and this is only possible if there is steady heat.
Mashed Pumpkin
Mashed pumpkin is a great alternative to potatoes. The ingredients are; black pepper, minced garlic, pumpkin, grated parmesan, salt, and heavy cream. Small pumpkins are a better choice for this recipe.
If you are not sure about spotting them out, then you should ask for “sugar pumpkins” once at the grocery. As for the garlic, you should looked out for that which is freshly minced as much as possible.
To prepare, cook the pumpkin first. There are different ways to this including cutting the vegetable into half and then placing it in the oven. Alternatively, you could place pumpkin cubes in a microwave.
Once ready, place the pumpkin in a food processor a long with the cream, parmesan, pepper, salt, and garlic. Mash.
Orange Ginger Glazed Carrots
The recipe will work for one with a sweet tooth. Moreover, it has a hint of spice. The ingredients include; baby carrot, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, sea salt, orange juice, and ginger.
To prepare, cook butter over medium heat until it has melted. Add brown sugar, pepper, cinnamon, sea salt, and ginger. Stir well until they have combined well. Increase the heat then add baby carrots.
Coat them with the sauce then cook for at least twenty minutes. The carrots are ready once they become tender. As they cook though, you should continue to stir following regular intervals.
Spinach Salad with Mushrooms and Feta
This is a meatless therefore low carb salad a consideration that many are increasingly looking out for. The ingredients include; extra virgin oil, spike seasoning, mushrooms, garlic powder etc. Any mushroom type will work just fine though I recommend cremini mushrooms.
Feta cheese is substitutable with a whole lot of variations. Suggestions for you include grated Swiss and Gorgonzola.
To prepare, whisk together balsamic vinegar, seasoning, and garlic powder to come up with dressing. Separately, chop mushrooms and heat in oil.
After five minutes, add onions and cook for another two minutes. Add the dressing and allow to simmer. Place spinach in a bowl next and power the mushrooms. Now sprinkle with feta cheese.
Potatoes au Gratin
This side dish is closely related to scalloped potatoes though I would categorize this as much indulgent. The necessary ingredients include; cheese, butter, cloves, pepper, and potatoes. The best cheese to work with is gruyere though it can be expensive. So you may opt for mozzarella instead.
To prepare, mix butter, garlic, and cream in a jar. Next, peel and slice the potatoes. Spread the potatoes on a baking sheet and pour the cream mixture over them.
Add thyme, pepper, and salt too. Now cover and bake for at least an hour. Uncover and top with cheese before baking for another fifteen minutes. The potatoes should turn golden brown at this point and should therefore be ready to serve.
Roasted Vegetables
This recipe has quite the list of ingredients. You may leave out some vegetables or include those that have not been included depending on your taste. The procedure for preparation remains the same nonetheless. In total, cooking and preparation takes only thirty minutes.
The ingredients needed include; olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mushrooms, broccoli florets, red bell pepper, thyme, onion, black pepper etc.
The onion and red pepper should be chopped. As for the thyme, you should properly dry it.
To prepare, find a baking sheet and oil it. Place mushrooms, butternuts, bell pepper, squash, onion, and zucchini onto it. Add thyme, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar then toss to ensure that everything combines. Place in the oven. Bake until tender.
Duck Fat Fries
You will most certainly like this dish if at all you are already a fun of French fries. For duck fat fries, it is alright to use the potatoes that work for you best. The other ingredient is duck fat. For your serving, you may add truffle aioli and truffle salt though it does not have to be.
To prepare, place the fries in a bowl and then coat with fat using your hands. Do not overcoat though, all we are aiming at here is to have each of the slices coated.
Place the fires on a baking sheet and bake for fifteen minutes. Be sure to flip them during the process for better results. Remove and allow for cooling.
Instant Pot Ratatouille
The recipe is a French classic. Moreover, it adopts an instant pot meaning that you really do not have to be around all the time as the cooking happens. Ingredients include; water, eggplant, mushroom, tomato paste, zucchini, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, basil etc. Be sure to use high quality vegetables.
To prepare the recipe, mix all vegetables with oil and then water. Now place them in a pot and cook at high pressure.
Do not wait for long to remove them though as this will spoil things so five minutes should be good enough. Once ready, do a pressure release then remove the lid. Finally, top with shredded cheese. Go ahead and serve.
Blood Orange, Fennel and Avocado Salad with Lemon Citronette
The ingredients for this recipe include; goat cheese, honey, citronette, almonds, black pepper, blood oranges etc. To turn the recipe vegan, you can substitute honey with sugar and omit goat cheese. To make it nut free, substitute almonds with pumpkin seeds.
To prepare, start by heating the almonds over medium heat. You should frequently stir though to avoid burning. Remove once they start turning golden. Place in bowl and combine with avocado, greens, goat cheese, and blood oranges. Separately whisk together the dressing ingredients and then add them to the earlier prepared combination. Drizzle the citronette over the salad and serve.
Should you prepare more than enough for one serving, then wait to add the dressing until the time of next serving.
Other Side Dishes for Duck
- Baked Parsnip Fries with Rosemary
- Roasted Pepper Salad with Feta, Pine Nuts & Basil
- Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Balsamic