Snacks and Sauces·Meat, Fish and Poultry Appetizers

Stuffed Duck Necks with Rice and Apples | Recipe

Name: Stuffed Duck Necks with Rice and Apples | Recipe
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: Duck necks 2; Rice 0.5 cup; Onion 1; Apples 4-5; Raisins 50 g; Butter as needed; Salt, black pepper, paprika to taste

Stuffed poultry neck is thought to be a dish with Jewish roots, called “gefilte helzl” in Yiddish. But most Slavic cuisines have something similar, prepared in very different ways, often quite exotically. When I was a boy, my grandmother always kept geese and ducks, and there was hardly any meat on the neck to eat, so stuffed duck, goose and chicken necks were on the table with enviable regularity.

A duck neck stuffed in a special way is a well-known and widespread dish, and there are funny stories about it in literature. Most recipes use poultry fat and cracklings, flour or semolina, and fried onion. The stuffed neck is tied or sewn shut, then cooked in broth, which is closer to braising, or sometimes baked. It is served sliced into medallions.

Our family recipe is different, and our stuffed necks are not like the classic ones made from old Jewish recipes. For the filling we use duck fat, rice or bulgur (as you like), seedless raisins or dried apricots, and sour green apples. The duck neck is baked in an apple purée, and wedges of baked apple serve as the side dish.

This is a fairly simple dish. Nowadays in the city nobody raises ducks, so we buy whole birds in the shop for a festive table. Usually, especially for New Year, we cook a duck in the oven, or duck in orange sauce, or a home-style baked stuffed duck, and we simply cut off the necks and freeze them. When we feel like it, we stuff them and bake them. Stuffed duck neck is delicious, especially the baked crust you get from frying in duck fat.

If you like, the stuffed neck can be spicy or hot. The dish resembles pilaf cooked inside a casing of duck neck, and it turns out crumbly and aromatic.

For the filling you can use rice, bulgur, or perhaps other grains. If you have no duck fat from under the skin, fry the onion in vegetable oil or butter. To improve the flavor of the filling, add a finely chopped sour apple. You don't need many spices, just a little salt, black pepper and paprika. In its cooking method the dish is similar to amich, the Armenian stuffed chicken.

More with duck

Roast Stuffed Duck with ApplesWhole duck stuffed with rice, apples and orange and roasted until golden over fruit that turns into a sauce. A simple, reliable holiday centrepiece.

Roast duck with applesWhole roast duck stuffed with sour apples and spices, slow-roasted in the oven until tender and golden. A step-by-step holiday recipe with photos.

Duck with PotatoesPan-fried duck breast with potatoes and onion in butter and olive oil: tender, juicy duck and fluffy potatoes in one skillet. An easy, hearty dinner.

Duck SoupRich homemade duck soup: duck breast simmered with spices into a golden stock, then potatoes, carrot, onion and fine vermicelli. Simple, hearty, for two.

Ingredients

2 servings

Duck necks 2
Rice 0.5 cup
Onion 1
Apples 4-5
Raisins 50 g
Butter as needed
Salt, black pepper, paprika to taste

Step-by-step recipe

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If the duck necks were frozen, thaw them completely. Duck is usually a fatty bird, and there is plenty of fat under the skin. Carefully peel the skin off the neck like a stocking, trying not to tear it. Turn the skin inside out. Gently scrape off the fat with a knife and try to remove any visible bits of connective tissue. Tie or sew the opening in the skin, where the head was, with cotton thread.
Finely chop the duck fat. If there is little fat, you will need to add a little butter later, so that the total amount of fat is about 1/3 cup. Peel the onion and chop it finely. In a small frying pan, render only the duck fat. Add butter only if there is too little duck fat. Fry the onion in the fat until golden and transfer it to a saucer. Keep the remaining fat for brushing the stuffed necks.
Rinse the seedless raisins and soak them in warm water. Boil crumbly rice in plain water until almost done; parboiled and basmati varieties work well. In a large bowl, mix the rice, fried onion, raisins and a peeled sour apple cut into small cubes, such as Renet Simirenko or Granny Smith. Season with a pinch of salt and add ground black pepper and paprika to taste. Mix the filling.
Using a spoon, carefully stuff the prepared duck necks with the filling. Pack it tightly, helping spread the filling along the whole length with your hand. The necks will look like fat sausages. Sew up the other end with cotton thread. The duck necks are ready for baking.
Mix a little salt, paprika and black pepper. You can add hot ground pepper. Wash the remaining apples, cut them into quarters without peeling, and remove the cores with the seeds. Put all the apples in a baking dish and lay the stuffed necks on top. Sprinkle the apples and necks with the spice mix, then brush the apples and necks with the remaining fat.
Preheat the oven to 180-190°C. Put the dish in the oven. The apples will quickly release juice, which mixes with the fat and the liquid from the duck. Baste the apples and necks with this liquid from time to time. Turn the necks over a few times as well. Baking takes more than 1 hour, so judge the doneness of the necks by eye. As soon as the duck browns nicely, it is done. The total time can be up to 1.5 hours.
Take the finished duck necks out of the oven and carefully remove the cotton threads that sealed the openings. Slice the necks into medallions no wider than 1.5-2 cm. Arrange the slices on a plate in the shape of a whole neck. Put quarters of baked apple alongside and pour over the liquid from the dish.
Serve the stuffed necks hot as an appetizer. You can sprinkle them with a little chopped herbs or finely sliced green onion.

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Recipe facts

Yield:	2 servings
Calories:	140 kcal per 100 g
Prep time:	30 mins
Cooking time:	1 h
Total time:	1 h 30 mins
Category:	Snacks and Sauces › Meat, Fish and Poultry Appetizers
Cuisine:	European
Rating:	4.4 (2)