What needs to be removed from the duck so that the dish does not acquire a specific smell: a culinary secret
There are many different recipes for making duck on the internet and cookbooks. But not all of these recipes indicate one culinary technique that relieves dishes from this bird from a specific smell. What needs to be removed from the duck so that the dish is not spoiled - read on!
It's all about the tail!
In the tail (tail of the duck) there are sebaceous, or as they are also called, coccygeal glands. This paired tubular organ contains fat (more precisely, it will be called a water-repellent impregnation), with which the duck treats the plumage from getting wet. Using her beak, she squeezes out the secretion from the sebaceous gland and lubricates the feathers with it. The composition of this fat is a little specific and in its "taste" it differs from the internal and subcutaneous fat of this bird.
So, it is the contents of these glands that can spoil any duck dish, giving it an unpleasant aftertaste and repulsive smell. Broth, roast, baked and smoked poultry - it doesn't matter, the sebaceous glands that have not been removed negatively affect the dish with any method of preparation. In general, in order not to have to make excuses for an expensive dish from which guests turn up their nose, it is necessary to remove these glands.
How to remove the coccygeal glands of a duck?
There are two methods of removing these glands - rough and pinpoint. Rough implies complete removal of the tail. Here for sure - cut off the tail and no problem!
Spot is the removal of the glands themselves from the tail. It is not very easy to perform and suits people with the makings of a surgeon. Here you need to put the duck carcass on the abdomen, make incisions in the upper part of the tail on both sides of the spine and remove the glands. When opened, these glands can be identified by their specific yellow color.