KEY POINTS:
There is something rewarding about sitting down and enjoying a meal which you have retrieved from the wild with your own bare hands.
For me, this process started at first light on Saturday morning - the opening day of the three-month duck shooting season - at a lake near Mangawhai.
Dressed in camo, armed with my 20 gauge Beretta Urika shotgun and accompanied by the usual hunting buddies - my dad Murray, good family friend Craig and his son Warren - I got my first duck of the season pretty quickly.
As the day went on and we reached our limit we turned to the task of plucking and gutting our prey, most of which is shared among family, friends and colleagues.
On Monday night I tried cooking some of the duck in a stirfry. It was OK but it was Wednesday when I fell in love with wild duck after learning the secrets of great wild game cooking from Tony Lolaiy at Auckland restaurant Cazador.
Tony's restaurant is one of many throughout the country participating in the annual Wild Game Bird Food Festival where hunters can take their prey in to be cooked by a professional.
For many it becomes a regular treat and I can see why - the food is delectable and it's great eating something you've spent an honest day harvesting, rather than picking up from the supermarket.
At Cazador, Tony - an avid hunter himself - has been cooking everything from ducks to venison for hunters for many years so the Food Festival is nothing new for him.
He'll create whatever you want. All he asks is that you give him enough time to prepare the meat - preferably dropping in to his Dominion Rd restaurant a couple of days before you dine.
The first of Tony's secrets is to always try for a head shot as the instant death releases less adrenaline into the meat, which makes for a more tender meal. The second is to "never ever, ever, ever, ever" add salt until serving as it will dry out the duck.
My duck had been delivered earlier that morning, so Tony had already prepared it in garlic and oil, given it a light cooking and had it waiting for me in a marinade.
As I watched he quickly cooked up a mixture of stock and other tasty treats to which he added a sundried tomato and capsicum sauce and some fresh pasta.
The thinly chopped duck breast was the last thing to go in and minutes later the pasta dish was served up with a dash of parmesan, chopped parsley and a glass of red wine.
Given my attempt to stirfry a couple of nights earlier, I have to admit I was a bit reluctant to get into another meal of duck so soon.
But Tony's dish was delectable and one I eagerly tried to repeat at home on Thursday night.
Mine wasn't quite as good as Tony's version, but I have to say it wasn't bad at all.
So, with my new duck recipe in hand, I think I'll be giving less meat to my friends and colleagues in the future.
For more information about the Wild Game Bird Food Festival and participating restaurants visit www.fishand game.org.nz
TONY'S TIPS FOR COOKING DUCK
1. Aim for a head shot if possible as this makes the meat more tender.
2. Let the duck hang for as long as possible before plucking. Alternatively let meat sit in a dish in the fridge for several days before cooking, turning over every 12 hours or so.
3. Never add salt until serving, otherwise the meat will dry out.
4. Let meat sit in garlic and oil or a marinade for at least two hours before cooking. This helps take away some of the strong gamey taste for those who don't like it.
5. If taking meat into a restaurant to be cooked, try to get it to the chef a couple of days before you plan to dine out so it can be prepare
