Duck Tacos: My Best New Cooking Trick

Chop or pull duck, top with spicy Asian slaw and smear Hoisin on warmed tortillas.

The assembly of the tacos is done by each person at the table, so serving is easy on the host, and they can have them their way and as many as they want. Be prepared for people to eat more than you would think. The only hard part is deciding your strategy on cooking the duck. If you roast the ducks you should have an appealing result like this—that needs carving. The time to roast and carve add up if you’re in a hurry.

The alternative is one duck for about 60 minutes on high pressure in an instant pot, (two ducks will not fit in my instant pot) natural release and pick the bones out to save them for stock. Put the meat on a serving platter. Minimal chopping may be required. The skin can be chopped in small pieces and baked in a 350 degree oven until crispy. Scatter the pieces over the duck meat platter. The pot juices are strained and defatted for other uses. Potatoes are good cooked in duck fat. Duck juice can moisten a platter of chopped duck or used as the stock for cooking beans or soup.

I bought this a year ago and have used it almost weekly to make stock, beans and brown rice. I find it now my first choice for pork shoulder and ribs. If you have it out for another project it makes sense to cook vegetables like cauliflower, green beans or broccoli in just a few minutes.

I love my instant pot but pressure cooking duck or chicken does not create an appealing photograph of the poultry. Roasting is your technique if you want to Instagram your project.

Duck tacos make everyone happy.

Extra garnishes are up to you, such as chopped scallions, cucumbers, chilies and cilantro. I’ve tried all several times and find the slaw is a winner by itself. Any hearty table wine you would serve with BBQ does fine with this meal as would beer or ice tea. Make everyone happy in the new year by serving duck tacos.

A stunning bouquet of flowers for the hosts!

Have a great holiday and welcome the New Year with new recipes!