Muscovy (itik nila/serati) Meat

Lots of flavor, big value, little fat

Muscovy duck has a unique taste and flavor. The meat is lean (tidak berlemak), tender (lembut), meaty (berisi), and flavorful. Muscovy or some will call it itik Nila or also known as Itik Serati by the local here in Malaysia has 50% more breast meat than the other domestic ducks available and the breast meat is 99% lean (hampir tiada lemak) if compared to other type of ducks.

There are few common duck that was slaughtered for their meat and one of them is Peking duck. In Malaysia Peking duck is a very popular cuisine among the locals especially among the Chinese.  But the acceptance level of duck meat among the other races in Malaysia especially Malay still low. Among people who have never tried duck, or those who rarely eat it, there appears to be at least two concerns. One concern seems to be a lack of knowledge of how to properly prepare duck and another concern is the higher fat content in duck compared to chicken.

But again why Muscovy meat is better? well of course each individuals have different preference on the taste. What I'm trying to compare is on the nutrient side which help to tell the goodness of the Muscovy meat as compared to the Peking duck: 

Amount per serving (Calories 200)
Nutrient	Pekin Duck	Mascovy Duck
Total fat	23g	14 g
Saturated fat	6g	5 g
Cholesterol	185 mg	130 mg
Sodium	1370 mg	125 mg
Potassium	0 mg	360 mg
Total carbohydrate	17 g	Less than 1g
Protein	31 g	19 g
Vitamin A	36 µg	0 mg
Iron	2 mg	10%

 Source: Grimaud Farm South Aurora Stockton, California

The nutrient table shows that Muscovy meat contain less total fat and cholesterol compared to the Peking duck meat. This is why Muscovy meat are well known as the most lean meat compared to the other ducks. Because of that, Muscovy meat is less oily and greasy when cooked.

Hard to differentiate between high quality beef and Muscovy duck

Muscovy is very popular cuisine in french delicacies and most of the chef agree that if the Muscovy meat is well prepared, the meat is very hard to differentiate between good quality beef vial or Muscovy meat This is because Muscovy meat has deeper red in color compared to other type of duck and when cook the color flourish into nice red meat similar to beef.

Muscovy (Itik Nila / Itik Serati) meat

Raw Muscovy (Itik Serati / Itik Nila) breast meat

Grilled Muscovy (Itik Nila / Itik Serati)

Peking Duck meat

Peking duck breast meat

Grilled Peking Duck

Comparison of Different Types of Fowl 

1. Turkey (Ayam Belanda), 

2. Goose (Angsa), 

3. Muscovy duck (Itik Nila/Itik Serati), 

4. Guinea fowl (Ayam Mutiara), 

5. Mallard, 

6. Poussin (Ayam Muda), 

7. Quail, 

8. Partridge (Burung Seruk Gunung), 

9. Pigeon squab (Merpati Muda), 

10. Pheasant (Burung Kuang), 

11. Chicken (Ayam), 

12. Aylesbury duck