When I was a child I became used to being woken up by the sound of gunshots being fired.

It would be a cold autumn morning in early May, it wouldn’t have yet reached 7am, but gunshots would be resonating across our still farm, meaning only one thing:

Duck shooting season had begun.

There is a four week period in late autumn every year when it is legal to shoot ducks on private property in New Zealand. It is like Christmas for hunting enthusiasts.

My parent’s farm, with creeks running through it, was a thriving location for shooting. While no one in my immediate family ever partook in this recreational pastime, our extended family, neighbours and friends would come and hunt our bounty.

In return, they would provide us with whole ducks.

As a child I never appreciated the value in being given a couple of these birds or the decadence of roasted duck. These days, I long for someone to turn up on my doorstep with a duck (provided it’s plucked!).

Duck is one of those items that if it’s on the menu, I’ll order it. But my love for duck has never extended to cooking it myself.

So it was with excitment that I saw the penultimate Taste Le Tour recipe was duck. I was hoping for duck a l’orange, but instead it was duck fillet with porcini mushrooms and green peppercorn sauce.

As with most of the dishes in this Taste Le Tour challenge, it was easy to make.

The duck breasts are pan fried until the fat has rendered and they are cooked. While the duck is resting, the mushrooms (I used a mix of porcini and swiss brown) are sauted with shallots, garlic and parsley.

Peppercorns, Cognac, beef stock and cream are combined to make the sauce.

The duck was a winner: the skin was crispy and the breast moist. The mushrooms were divine and the sauce brought the dish together well, although I wasn’t a fan of the whole peppercorns.

Having discovered that cooking duck is so easy has whet my appetite for more — maybe it’s time I learnt to hunt!

View other blogs about my Taste Le Tour French cooking journey here.