Duck, Duck, Gumbo

Duck, Duck, Gumbo

By Sarah Baird

Wild game has always been a gumbo-making staple for many on the Gulf Coast, who seem to love the ritual of hunting for their dinner almost as much as the fellowship involved in cooking it up afterward. From rabbit and venison to pheasant and wild boar, Cajun cooks have long been some of the most adept hunters and trappers around, and their ability to turn the spoils of hours spent in tree stands or waist-high water into rich, simmering pots of gumbo is practically limitless. For Chef Nathan Richard, a Thibodaux native who has helmed fine dining kitchens across the Southeast for more than 20 years, there’s one type of wild game that flies above the rest when it comes to gumbo ingredients: duck.

“I think duck hunting — and hunting in general — is full of lessons to be learned about life. It’s all about the memories that you’re making,” Richard explains. “The night before a duck hunt, everyone’s eating and having a good time and making memories. The next morning, you wake up early to go out at 4:30 a.m. and make even more memories. Whether you’re a kid or an adult taking your sons and daughters out for the first time, lifelong memories are made while hunting for wildlife.”

Hunting also teaches plenty of lessons about the natural world and appreciating where food comes from. “I’m always a firm believer that you shouldn’t take more than you need when hunting. There are people who go out and kill a freezer full of duck, then next thing you know, they’re giving it away because they have too much. I think you should take what you need to eat and leave the rest to grow.”

For Richard, hunting humanely also means using all of an animal’s parts — including those bits that might seem intimidating to cook at first blush. “Make sure you use every part of the duck or whatever you kill to the best of your ability, because that duck gave its life for that pot of gumbo,” says Richard, who is a big fan of both duck heart and gizzard. “There are a lot of people who will just take certain things off the duck and throw the rest away. It’s heartbreaking that the rest of the duck is wasted because they’re either too lazy to clean it or they don’t think it tastes good. You took that duck’s life for your meal, and it’s important to treat it properly. It’s all about cooking with respect.”