Crescent duck on the menu? Long Island chefs lament loss of commercial duck farm

When news broke that Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue was euthanizing its flock due to an outbreak of bird flu, local chefs were quick to lament the loss of one of Long Island's signature food products. 

Stephen Rosenbluth, the recently installed chef at The Carriage House Wine Bar at The Milleridge Inn in Jericho, said he’s been cooking with Crescent ducks his whole professional life. "At Rabbit Hole [the Merrick restaurant he closed last year], duck was a top seller, I’d use the breast in an entrée and the legs for tacos," he said Thursday. He recalled that once, in a pinch, he bought another, cheaper brand of duck. "I was thinking, how different could it be? But it wasn’t even close — the breast had half the meat."

Doug Corwin, president of the family owned Crescent Duck Farm established in 1908, told Newsday Wednesday the outbreak would result in the euthanization of about 99,000 birds — his entire flock. Crescent is the last commercial duck farm on Long Island. Corwin said the bulk of his income comes from supplying duck to high-end restaurants, including eateries on Long Island and in New York City.  

It's unlikely duck will be coming off the menus of Long Island restaurants. There are many other brands of duck available from wholesalers such as Restaurant Depot, Sysco and US Foods. High-end wholesale distributor Baldor Specialty Foods not only sold Crescent, but continues to carry Jurgielewicz (which raised ducks in Moriches from 1919 to 2011, when it relocated to Pennsylvania) and La Belle (from the Hudson Valley farm co-founded by the late Michael Ginor, who also owned Lola Restaurant in Great Neck). 

But Crescent has held a special place in chefs' hearts and kitchens. Since he opened his modern Spanish restaurant, R.AIRE at The Hampton Maid in Hampton Bays, chef Alex Bujoreanu has always had Crescent ducks — and only Crescent ducks — on the menu. "We want to support local businesses," he said, "but they are of the best quality, and I have tried other ducks." Bujoreanu confitted the legs (braised them in their own fat) and put them on paella; he seared the breasts and served them with figs, pears, spinach and polenta. He would use the bones for stocks and sauces and any extra skin and fat was rendered down. "At the restaurant, the only two fats I use are extra-virgin olive oil and the fat I render from Crescent ducks."

Paul Dlugokencky, partner at Blind Bat Brewery Bistro in Centerport and a committed locavore, was a devoted customer of Crescent’s duck fat. "I’d buy a big box — 15 pounds of duck fat — and render it down." He’d use the fat to fry chicken and French fries. The rendering process would also produce crackling, crisp, brown nubbins of skin, which he would combine with mashed potatoes to fill knishes. "I rendered a batch of fat last week," he said wistfully, "it isn’t going to last me too much longer."

Corwin said there may be hope of reviving the business, thanks to 10,000 sanitized eggs currently in quarantine. 

With Mark Harrington and Lisa L. Colangelo