Apple Stuffed Wild Roast Duck with Elderberry Sauce

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This evening I roasted the most delicious wild roast duck topped with a homemade elderberry sauce. Not only did it look gorgeous when it finished roasting, but the flavor of the wild roast duck paired with the elderberry sauce were a perfect compliment to each other. My mom is not a big fan of dark meat, but even she enjoyed our wild roast duck dinner!

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Learning how to harvest, field dress and prepare wild duck

For years I searched for the best recipes to prepare wild duck. I heard from so many people that wild duck was greasy and unpalatable. Yet so many people love to duck hunt, I couldn’t figure out why wild duck meat had such a bad rap. Turns out I was just asking the wrong people!

A couple years ago, I had the amazing experience of joining a group of other women to learn how to harvest, field dress and prepare wild duck. It was a weekend class hosted by the Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks Becoming an Outdoor Woman (BOW) program. I’ve been hunting and harvesting wild game for years since I value the opportunity to wild harvest the meat we serve our family. The one type of hunting I never really pursued was duck hunting because I couldn’t justify harvesting wild ducks if I didn’t know how to prepare it well.

Well after the BOW class, I have quite a few wild duck recipes in my collection now. We sampled several wild duck recipes that were prepared for us during the class. All I can say is, I can’t believe it took me this long to connect with the right people to show me some pointers on how to properly prepare wild duck!

Apple Stuffed Wild Roast Duck with Elderberry Sauce

This recipe is a mixture of several recipes I came across that inspired this dish. The basic recipe I used for roasting a wild duck is from Hank Shaw’s website Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook. He also has several wild game cookbooks that that are on my wishlist!

The other cookbook that inspired this recipe is Preparing Fish and Wild Game, a cookbook a good friend recommended a few years ago.

Recipe Ingredients:
1 whole dressed wild duck (the roast duck in the recipe picture is a drake mallard)

1 sweet apple

1 cup of boiling water

1 teaspoon chicken bullion (here’s how I make it)

1/2 cup elderberry jelly (here’s how to make it)

2 Tablespoons orange juice

Recipe Directions:

Allow the duck to sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking so you aren’t roasting a cold duck.

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees about 15-20 minutes before you are ready to bake the duck to ensure the oven is good and hot.
Step 2: Tuck the duck wings behind the back and stuff the cavity with the apple slices.
Step 3: Place two long pieces of celery a few inches apart in the bottom of a roasting pan or large cast iron skillet.
Step 4: Place the duck breast side up on top of the two pieces of celery so the celery holds the duck up off the bottom of the pan.
Step 5: Mix the chicken bouillon in the water. Pour the mixture over top the duck.
Step 6: Roast the duck in the oven and baste it with the bouillon in the bottom of the pan several times while it is roasting for 15 minutes.
Step 7: While the duck is roasting, mix the elderberry jelly and orange juice in a small saucepan on the stove. Heat on medium and whisk to create a smooth sauce.
Step 8: Baste the duck with the elderberry sauce several times while the duck roasts for another 5-10 minutes or until the breast reads 140-145 degrees on a meat thermometer.
Step 9: Remove the duck from the oven and allow to sit for 8-10 minutes before carving.
Step 10: Serve the wild roast duck with the remaining elderberry sauce drizzled on top.

This roast duck with elderberry sauce is my favorite way to eat wild harvested duck. What’s your favorite way to prepare wild duck?