New York chefs fancy high-tech crossbred ducks

To the untrained eye, the 25,000 or so ducks waddling around Cochecton Farm in upstate New York's Sullivan County seem rather ordinary. But they are anything but.
These birds, dubbed Rohan ducks, are a unique, heritage crossbreed created by Ariane Daguin, owner of luxury foods company D'Artagnan.

Inspired by the Rouen duck from Normandy, the Rohan is a cross between the Mallard and the Pekin ducks (aka the Long Island Duck), with some qualities of the Muscovy duck, too.

Modern, high-tech breeding techniques—including artificial insemination—have been employed to create this entirely new artisanal duck. Cutting-edge technology is being used to make sure they're being raised well, too.

The ducks are bred in Quebec, sent to the Catskills when they are just one day old, where they're raised naturally, without any antibiotics or hormones.

"We demand a never-ever program from our farmers," Ms. Daguin says.

Great care is taken in how they're raised and harvested, two factors that Ms. Daguin argues have a large effect on taste and quality.

While the 5-to-6 pound ducks are currently available on D'Artagnan's website ($30.99 frozen and $31.99 fresh), and in select stores, Ms. Daguin is planning a larger retail rollout in the spring, as she and her farmers increase the volume of ducks raised on the farm.

But some of New York's most respected chefs—at restaurants owned by Daniel Boulud, David Burke and Keith McNally, among others—have already begun featuring the Rohan duck on their menus.

The meat of the Rohan duck has a deep red color, is "juicy, moist and full of flavor, with skin that is ideal for crisping," Ms. Daguin says.

Olivier Quignon of Bar Boulud uses Rohan duck for his entree of crispy braised duck breast and braised duck leg stuffed anelli.

"I like the quality of the fat," he says. "Usually there's a lot of water in duck fat, so when you cook it, the fat doesn't melt well, and the skin doesn't get really crispy. But the Rohan skin gets really crispy," he says. (One of the reasons: Rohan ducks are air-chilled rather than chilled in water after harvesting.)

"Most of the duck we find in America doesn't taste enough like duck for me. These are more flavorful," he says.

Bar Boulud sells their entree for $32.

"I could buy a cheaper duck," Mr. Quignon says, "but I don't think the quality would be as good, in terms of both the texture of the meat or the taste."

That's a sentiment echoed by Marty Sacci, of Ashley Marketplace in South Orange, N.J., who sells Rohan duck in his store. "It's a more natural flavor," he says of the ducks, which he sells for $6.99 a pound.

"Ducks that are being raised in a pen just can't compare to artisanal ducks when it comes to taste," he says.

Much of the responsibility for raising those ducks in artisanal style falls on Marcus Henley, who runs Cochecton Farm.

There, ducks are fed a diet of corn and soy, walk on sawdust floors rather than grates (as is the case with factory-farmed ducks) and have room to move. Close attention is also paid to cutting down bacteria (for example, rather than drinking from large troughs of water, ducks drink from plastic nipples). New technology—like automatic feed replenishers and temperature and ventilation controls—assures humane treatment and allows the farm to keep costs in check, Mr. Henley says.

Ms. Daguin offers each of the hundreds of farmers D'Artagnan works with clear instructions on how she wants animals to be raised.

The attention to detail is part of what's made her company renowned for everything from foie gras to game to truffles.

"The name D'Artagnan represents quality," says Mr. Sacci.

When the French-born Ms. Daguin started D'Artagnan in 1985, she was the first to bring to market domestically produced foie gras in the U.S. (she still advocates for foie gras and denies that the raising and feeding process is inhumane).

Her timing was just right. "That was when professional culinary schools became popular and professional chefs were being elevated from glorified dishwashers to rock stars. They started to demand things like quail, rabbit and squab, and I worked with farmers in the area to source that."

Ms. Daguin's familiarity with these foods can be traced back to her lineage. She represents the seventh generation of her family to be in the food business. Her father was chef and owner of Hotel de France, a restaurant and hotel in the food-centric French region of Gascony, known for its foie gras and brandy.

Her childhood, she says, was similar to that of Eloise, the famous children's book heroine who grows up at the Plaza. "My friends would come over after school and we'd sneak sausages, cheeses and wonderful baked goods."

Much of Ms. Daguin's passion lies in supporting local farms, and educating farmers and consumers of the importance of preservative-free, humanely raised and natural meats.

One current food trend she finds particularly egregious is the tendency for large factories to harvest animals too early.

"The cost of feed accounts for 99% of the cost of raising animals, so there's a trend in America toward harvesting animals as young as possible to cut costs," she says.

The difference is noticeable to the diner.

"If you harvest before ducks are mature, they will have an unacceptable bone to meat ratio," she says, which leaves little meat to enjoy. "For chicken, you now have genetics that allow a speedy maturity at 35 days, but then the meat does not taste like anything and it's mushy."

While factory-farmed ducks are usually harvested around 5? weeks, Rohan ducks, like other heritage breeds, are harvested at 11 weeks.

Ms. Daguin's mission to bring better food to plates around the country is a work in progress, she says, but it isn't a lost cause.

"Little by little people are changing their priorities," she says. "They are understanding that well-raised animals have the best results on the plate."