Food Critics: The Best Duck Dishes In Kansas City In 2019 – KCUR

Yes, Kansas City is known for its chicken — whether it’s fried , barbecued or one ingredient of many .

What about the other birds out there, though? On the Friday before Thanksgiving, KCUR’s food critics took a moment to consider not just turkey but also grouse, quail, pheasant and duck. Especially sweet.

“Pheasant, quail and squab should all be on this list, ” said Mary Bloch. “But duck seems to be more favored. ”

“I like to refer to ducks as beef that fly, ” stated wild game expert James Worley. “Duck breast is very similar to a steak. inch

According to our food critics, here is where you should go for duck — and a few other less-common bird dishes — in Kansas City:

Mary Bloch:

• Fox and Pearl — sweet pâté. This dish is so pleasing, both in terms of taste plus presentation. It’s served with grilled Fevere Bakery bread in a baby mason jar topped with a layer associated with sweet jam for the perfect bite.   Chef Vaughn Good also has a smoked and grilled duck breast served atop silky celery root puree and the ultimate comfort meals: duck leg confit in a cassoulet along with white beans and pork sausage.  
• The Antler Room — whole duck. When  Chef Nick Goellner has this on the menu, get it for the whole table to share. In one version, the Aylesbury duck breast is served with fermented honey, flatbread, scallion sprouts and lavender salt, ready to be made into tacos.
• Blue Koi — Fire Bird. This is where I go when I’m looking for a spicy dish. Choices of protein include chicken or tofu, but I highly recommend getting it with duck. Sauteed with lots of chili peppers and scallions, the boneless duck is offered over rice to cut the heat.
• Waldo Thai Place — panang phed. This crispy duck lower-leg with peanut curry, long bean plus Thai herbs is not with regard to lightweights. You’ll want to use a spoon so as not to miss the drop of this supremely rich dish.
• Princess Garden — Peking sweet. Call ahead and reserve this for a crowd. The hallmark of the kind of sweet is the thin skin that crisps up nicely whenever roasted; it will be presented and sliced up for you at your table. After you wrap the particular duck pieces into a thin Chinese pancake with a spoonful of hoisin sauce and a sprinkling associated with scallions, eating it with your hands will feel celebratory.
• Extra Virgin — duck tongue tacos. People often shy away from any dish that is made with language, but don’t be afraid to order these. The richness of the dark meat is offset by the guacamole plus slaw that will fills the rest of this crispy taco.
• Broadway Butcher Shop — whole duck and duck items let you make one of these dishes yourself. The particular butchers here are incredibly knowledgeable if you’re not sure how. This is also a great place to order your chicken for Thanksgiving holiday.

Liz Cook, The Pitch :

• Brookside Poultry Company — spit roasted Barham Farms duck. Call forward — like, six hours — in order to snag one of these whole parrots. They’re wet-brined for three days before roasting, yielding meat that stays plump plus tender beneath crunchy, mahogany skin.
• Lemongrass Thai Cuisine — red curry sweet. Banish any kind of winter blues by spooning up this particular velvety coconut curry sauce. It’s packed with dark, dewy duck meats, snappy red pepper strips and wilted basil leaves. A squeeze of sliced orange helps cut through the rich flavors.
• Room 39 — smoked duck breasts. The menus changes with the seasons at this romantic restaurant, but this dish is one constant. Regardless of the supporting players, it’s always delicately seasoned and elegantly plated. The current iteration is served with swiss chard, curried cauliflower along with a butternut-squash blend.
• Niecie’s Restaurant — deep-fried Thanksgiving poultry at this Troost Avenue soul food and Sunday brunch destination is $4. 35/lb if they supply the turkey, $2. 75/lb if you bring your own. This is an ideal holiday solution for me. While I love a brown sugar rubbed, crispy deep-fried turkey, I also love not having third-degree burns on my forearms and also a waist-high vat of grease to clean upward afterwards.
• Big T’s BBQ — smoked cigarettes turkey leg. Turkey breasts is standard at most local barbecue joints, but chicken legs get little love outside of the Renaissance Faire. Here that is corrected with an enormous smoked poultry leg glossed with a tangy, vinegar-forward barbecue sauce. Eat in to soak up the old school wood panel and black leather vibes (and to steep in the smokehouse aromas).
• The Campground — bricked quail. Game is often on the menu — and on the glassware — at this moody West Bottoms cocktail bar and cafe. The bricked quail consists of a few doll sized lower-leg quarters weighed down by a brick around the grill, ensuring maximum browning. Although the meat is dark and supple, a bright root vegetable puree makes this a deceptively light tasting fall meal.

Jenny Vergara, Feast Magazine :

• New Peking Chinese Restaurant — Duck Three Ways. This particular Westport eating place delivers duck in a multitude of ways, yet using an entire duck is the best way to taste them all. It’s a three course meal featuring Peking Duck served along with pancakes, cucumber, scallions plus plum spices, duck with bean seedlings and, finally, duck soup.
• Vietnam Cafe — chim cut. This classic Vietnamese street food within the heart of Columbus Park is deep-fried quail offered on a bed of chopped lettuce, pickled carrots and daikon radishes. Whatever you do, do not eat this dish with a fork and knife. It is meant to be eaten together with your hands.
• Freshwater — Tasso cured sweet leg. This delicious entree made from spicy Tasso ham cured duck leg will be served over popcorn grits, roasted turnip and sweet jus. Located on Southwest Trafficway, Freshwater consistently makes magic with a menu that is focused on seasonal, local produce plus proteins.
• Webster House — bruschetta. This particular dish features duck confit, fig, ricotta cheese and pea tendrils drizzled along with brown butter and a sweet apple balsamic vinegar called balsamela. It can topped with mushrooms plus leeks.
• Fritz’s Smoked Meats & Superior Sausage — turkey will be perfectly slow smoked more than local hickory wood. Bring yours in by the end of the day on Wednesday and they’ll smoke them on Thursday for pick-up on Fri afternoon or even Saturday at $2 per pound, having a $10 minimum.
• JJ’s Cafe — duck ravioli. Housemade ravioli stuffed with duck confit is served in a rich and satisfying warm veal butter sauce.
• Le Fou Frog — salade de canard fume. This River Market French bistro cuts the fat in its chilled duck salad with a combination of sweet and peppery flavor counterpoints: sliced up smoked sweet breast offered over apple slices plus arugula using a raspberry vinaigrette.
• Avalon Restaurant — duckling at this restaurant on Weston’s Main Street is served with a luscious lingonberry and chambord marinade.
• Story — smoked duck empanadas puts a Latin spin on smoked sweet, which is stuffed inside empanadas and offered with dark beans, avocado, jicama plus barbecue spices.

James Worley, wild game expert:

• Waldo Thai Place — panang phed. This dish comes with two duck leg quarters that have been sluggish cooked for hours then flash fried in order to crisp up the skin. Is actually served along with jasmine grain and a rich, creamy peanut sauce with hints associated with Thai herbs. This is my favorite duck meal in all of Kansas City.
• Café Sebastienne — sweet pastrami. This particular sandwich is usually tender, juicy and just a bit smokey. Served on marbled rye with some slaw and stone ground mustard, it’s an excellent lunch when you’re “ducking” around town.
• Jasper’s Italian Restaurant — oven roasted duck. This fall menu dish has crispy skin and is served with wild rice plus a reduction associated with blood orange, cranberry plus balsamic vinegar. It’s more like beef than any other duck dish in Kansas Town.
• Jarocho — duck carnitas taco. Offered with fresh pico sobre gallo and avocado mousse, this occasional special is the stuff of taco dreams.
• Affäre — Fasanenbrust. This particular splendid pheasant dish along with roasted grapes, truffles, leeks and butter is offered over apple company mashed potatoes and horseradish. An elegant dish to be sure!

Mackenzie Martin is an associate producer for KCUR’s Central Standard. Reach out to her at [email protected] org or on Twitter @_macmartin .