Personally I love using mallard; it offers something uniquely different to a standard duck. It has a much richer flavour, slightly more intense. I think the flavour encompasses a really rich Autumn/Winter meal and I love to use it for its seasonality and also the locality. We purchase all of our game from a supplier in Hampshire. Mallard can be a very hard meat to cook correctly as its smaller than a traditional duck and also can be much tougher. I like to sous vide the bird, to cook it slowly, this works especially well as there is very little fat to render. I cooked mallard on Masterchef and the dish here today is very similar to the one I produced on the television show.

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