The Secret to Tender, Juicy Duck: A Simple Cooking Hack

Wash the duck with banana leaves

Using banana leaves to neutralize odors and tenderize duck meat is one of the folk traditions passed down from ancient times. The elders used to say, “Duck meat with banana leaves, and chicken meat with lime leaves.” Gently rub the duck, inside and out, with banana leaves, and then rinse several times with clean water to eliminate any unpleasant duck odors and help tenderize the meat during cooking.

Use acidic ingredients and spices

If you’ve purchased an older duck, you can prepare a basin of water with a little vinegar or lime juice and soak the duck in this mixture for at least an hour. Vinegar and lime contain acidic components that help break down the tough muscle fibers in the duck’s meat. Therefore, soaking the duck in vinegar or lime water will make the meat more tender. After soaking, simply remove the duck, rinse it with clean water, and proceed to cook it.

Additionally, when preparing a ‘giả cầy’ dish (a traditional Vietnamese dish) with older goose or duck meat, our ancestors would add a type of fermented rice product called ‘mẻ’ to tenderize the meat and enhance the dish’s flavor.

Cook the duck with pineapple

Pineapple contains the enzyme bromelain (a protease). This enzyme works by cutting and breaking down long, tightly wound protein chains in the meat into shorter peptide chains, causing the collagen fibers to rapidly hydrolyze, thus reducing cooking time. Therefore, for tough and chewy meat, you can marinate it with pineapple juice or cook it with pineapple to tenderize it. Note that bromelain is a potent protein-degrading enzyme, so use only a moderate amount of pineapple to aid in tenderizing. If using it as a marinade, do not leave it on for too long, as it may cause the meat to disintegrate.

Use pork pancreas

According to the book “800 Life Hacks for Daily Life,” a tip for quickly tenderizing an older duck during boiling or stewing is to add a small piece of finely chopped pork pancreas to the pot. Not only does the pancreas help tenderize the duck meat, but it also enhances the flavor of the broth.

Add a few snails

Boiling a duck with snails is a folk method that results in tender meat and a sweeter broth.

Add smoked meat

You can cook an older duck with a few slices of smoked meat. This technique will make the duck meat juicier and more flavorful.

Use baking soda

Western chefs often use baking soda when baking or seasoning various types of meat. Baking soda is a mild alkaline salt that can hydrolyze and break down proteins. Therefore, using it in cooking helps to tenderize the meat. Note that you should not use too much baking soda, as it may impart a bitter taste to your dish.

The simplest method is to apply a small amount of baking soda all over the duck, let it sit for a while, and then rinse it off before cooking.