"Christine Dabney" > wrote in message
...
> Okay, I want to thank all of you for your ideas.
>
> I ended up talking to Steve Pope in chat tonight, and we talked about
> duck tacos.... He gave me his version of doing them, which I had
> forgotten about.
>
> I am doing a combo of several things, I think. I still like the duck
> taco idea... I am probably not entirely going to use his method,
> but a variant....
>
> Among other things, I found a spice rub I had made up some time ago
> for Mimi's sticky chicken. That made me think of her method of slow
> roasting chicken..and I got the idea to rub the duck with this spice
> mixture. It is now in the fridge, and will be there overnight. I
> think the spices will be complimentary to the duck and to the taco
> idea....
>
> Tomorrow, I think I will take another page from her book, and roast
> the duck slowly... Since the duck isn't in one piece and is split down
> the back, I am thinking of putting a roughly chopped red onion (they
> were on sale) under each piece of the duck. And letting it roast
> that way. By the time the duck is done, the onions should be
> meltingling tender as well, and very flavorful. I am thinking right
> now that this will be good mixed in with the shredded duck meat.
>
> Steve suggests a topping of a romaine type salad..with an oil and
> vinegar dressing. I keep on having ideas of using a sprinkle of some
> sort of grated dryish cheese. Not much...just a tiny sprinkle. And
> I keep on thinking it might be good to have a sharpish flavor..but
> maybe not. I haven't done this before..so maybe I am way off on this.
>
> Corn tortillas are a given....I can get good ones around here. I am
> thinking soft tacos...or would it be better to have them a bit crispy?

Absolutely, soft tacos. Dunk them in water for a half second and then grill
if you have one or heat in a skillet. Put them in a tortilla warmer as you
go.

>
> What do you all think of the cheese idea? A cotijo type cheese?

I can't see this working. Sorry. Cotija is so salty, it just would not
work with the duck IMO. I would use a soft and creamy cheese like a brie.
And I would make a fruit salsa consisting of things like purple onions,
oranges, mangos, pomegranates and apples. I would probably put some diced
avocado in it as well. Duck means sweet complimentary flavors. Salt would
ruin the delicate flavor and cotija is really salty. Also, I would second
cook the duck, fry it in duck grease to make it crispy. The dark meat would
be best for tacos.

Paul