You want Fries with that?
Ever since I put fries on the menu, we get alot of guests that think they are French fries cooked in duck fat. Boy are they surprised when the server tells them they are duck testicles. After the initial shock a growing number of guests are ordering them, and really enjoying them.
So lets start with the term “fries” also know as “prairie oysters”, “mountain oysters” and “swinging meat” they are all the same, it just depends on which animal. The idea of serving everything an animal has to offer is a big thing, but this is probably the hardest one to get folks to tuck into. The difference between duck fries and other animal fries is that the duck testicles are an internal not an external organ, they are also know as white kidneys. Duck fries are the newest menu item at Incanto rigtht now and here is a recipe.
Duck Fries with bacon and peas
serves 4
1 lb duck fries
4 strips sliced bacon
1/2 cup fresh shelled peas
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
fresh sorrel
Rinse the duck fries and remove the excess membranes, set on a towel and pat dry. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Put the bacon in a cold saute pan and bring it to medium heat to render out some fat. Remove the bacon once it has some color and turn the heat up. Add the duck fries and saute until golden brown on both sides, add
the bacon then the butter and fresh peas. Deglaze the pan with a splash of lemon juice, then add chicken stock and let reduce until the sauce emulsifies. Season with salt and pepper, and serve on four warm plates. Finish with a large chiffonade of fresh sorrel, then serve.
Duck fries can be purchased at dartagnan
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Offal Notes
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Although I would be willing to eat these, your plating leaves something to be desired. It doesn’t help push the ‘eat me, i’m good’ message.
In other news, In high school, I got to play with a removed cancerous human testicle (not my own), so I wonder if the texture is the same.
I had them at Incanto two weeks ago, and they were excellent! They reminded me of a finely-ground white veal sausage that I love from Switzerland “saucisse de veau”. When I tell people what I ate, the are pretty incredulous, though… I’m glad I have this link to prove it!
Are you kidding me? Isn’t that false advertising? 😉
duck fries sound yum tonight honey!
um….ma’am…they are duck balls.
why not call a spade a spade?
We thought about ordering the duck fries after being informed what they really are, but opted for the antipasto plate instead. We’ve both had turkey testicles and Rocky Mountain oysters before and would be interested to see how duck fries compare to those two meats.
We ate your duck fries (sans sorrel) and loved them. I went to the site that you list above and it appears that they no longer sell them. Is it possible that they only sell these to restaurants or as a special order?
They are much bigger than I would expect them to be…
Disgusting!
casa mono serves them with their plate of duck hearts.
This is the most disgusting thing i have heard in a while. People are becoming more and more debased. Just a sign of the times we live in I guess.
@ loulou:
It’s more debased to throw away and waste a perfectly good to eat, tasty, easy to prepare part of the animal. What do you think goes into the sausages and hot dogs you eat, sugar?
I live in the US and there is a butcher shop near my house, and I can get some of the more exotic offal practically free. That’s not being debased, it’s being thrifty and practical. It was nice, also, to be able to prepare haggis the old way. I had it on a business trip to Scotland and loved it, as do most people who try it there.
I am a huge fan of offal. This site referenced D’Artagnan as the vendor to buy them from. When I searched the on-line D’Artagnan product line I could not find them. Finally, I called the company to inquire as to whether or not they offered them and was told that they did, but they were not offering them on-line because they were not sometbing that many people were interested in purchasing. I suggested that they offered them because more people were interested in purchasing them and if they didn’t want them, then they just wouldn’t order them. I ordered a five pound bag. I haven’t tried them yet, but I can’t wait until I do. I also ordered cockscombs from them. I am looking forward to having some great “OFFAL GOOD EATS”!
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.
Thanks for confirming that what I ate at DNA in Montreal last week (awesome restaurant, if you ever get the chance) was, in fact, “ducknuts.”
They were served along with duck tongues and crispy duck skin as a garnish for a duck liver and duck egg yolk raviolo. Absolutely to die for.
@speedwell: Well said.
@loulou: It’s not like eating offal is something new. Someone above mentioned haggis. That heart/kidney/lung/stomach dish has been eaten for at least 600 years. And people from all cultures have eaten animal genitalia for just as long. From bulls and sheep, to fish (as in Soft Roe/milt) and spans the globe from the Americas to Europe to Asia. Now having said all that, I must admit that I’m not a big fan of most offal products, but I certainly don’t see anything depraved or debased about eating them. Unless you have moral issues with eating meat in general (which is a whole other debate) I don’t see any reason why one part of an animal is off limits while the rest is just fine.
Nice blog by the way, Chris!
ya i gotta agree with the others, LOULOU. what is “debased” about eating the whole animal? that was a living creature, and if u are going to kill it for food, u should “honor your protein” by using all of it that u can. im not a huge fan of offal, but to those who are, kudos! i think its great that the “whole hog” is being used, and theres nothing debased about it.