Posted by Reedy Fork Organic Farm on 5/23/2013 to
News
"This past weekend, our office manager Melissa and her husband Jeff stepped way out of the office and went to a Ducks 101 seminar at Duck Dance Farm in Burnsville, North Carolina. The all day event gave a thorough introduction into all things duck - from care and feeding to cooking and eating duck.
Duck Dance Farm is a Conservation Waterfowl and Poultry Farm that is committed to preserving endangered duck breeds. They have seven different ponds that were formerly part of a trout farm. As permaculturalists, their larger ponds are composed as miniature ecosystems, with ducks,geese, tadpoles, crawfish, bluegill, sunfish, and minnows that eat mosquito larvae!
There are several different species of ducks on the farm, including Welsh Harlequin, Ancona, Saxony, and Khaki Campbell. The ducks were absolutely gorgeous, with the males (called drakes) even more vibrantly colored than the females.
In addition to learning all about ducks, Melissa and Jeff were served a five course meal prepared by chef Matt Mazzuckelli from Smoking Goat Epicurean Arts. Just imagine…duck eggs with peppers, onions, mushroom, Bruschetta with duck meat, mixed green salad, baked duck with potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots, and lemon pound cake with lemon curd or rhubarb. Melissa and Jeff assure us that it was beyond delicious.
Tender hearted Melissa opted out of the duck processing demonstration, but Jeff saw how ducks are prepared to be eaten. And yes, Duck Dance Farm does sell duck meat – mostly to restaurants. They also sell duck eggs for $6 per dozen. They are usually sold out of both eggs and meat.
If you’re interested in taking a tour of Duck Dance Farm, you are welcome! In fact, they have an Open House with tours on Saturday June 8th. You can buy ducklings, see the birds, and enjoy the beauty of the farm! For more information, visit their website or their Facebook page.
PS Next week, we'll post about some of the things we learned from the seminar - hints on feeding and caring for ducks.
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