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The small island is famed for producing the ‘Wagyu of duck’, which is served in the world’s best restaurants
A true epicure knows the lure of the Silver Hill duck. After all, the world’s most acclaimed chefs and restaurants swear by the hybrid duck developed and bred exclusively in the small island of Ireland.
The prestigious bird has been served at the world’s most highly-regarded restaurants, such as those helmed by celebrity chefs Heston Blumenthal and Gordon Ramsay.
A unique hybrid of the Peking and Aylesbury ducks, the Silver Hill duck is known for having superior roasting characteristics and is served in over 95 per cent of Chinese restaurants in London—home to some of the world’s most famous roast duck restaurants.
“Silver Hill Duck is specifically reared for roasting by our Chinese restaurant customers,” Barry Cullen, Head of Sales at Silver Hill Duck, said. According to Cullen, Silver Hill has for 60 years perfected the ratio of fat-to-meat in its ducks, which when roasted in a traditional oven, results in crispy skin on the exterior while the meat inside remains moist and tender.
“The higher fat content not only protects the meat, but as the duck roasts, the fat mixes with the herbs and spices in the duck cavity to produce a beautiful and delicious duck sauce,” Cullen explains. According to him, higher fat content also means that the duck meat does not dry out as easily and stays succulent for much longer.
The ‘Wagyu of duck’
Known to industry insiders as the Wagyu of duck, Silver Hill duck is currently served at over 300 restaurants in Singapore alone, including one Michelin-starred Cure, restaurants under the TungLok Group, Duckland, London Fat Duck, Min Jiang, Shangri-La Hotel Singapore, Conrad Hotel and more.
“The meat is very tender and succulent and does not have the gamey taste which is otherwise quite common in duck meat,’’ Andrew Tijoe, President and CEO of TungLok Group said. He has “never looked back” since TungLok started serving the famed Irish ducks eight years ago.
To ensure consistent high quality, Silver Hill has devised its own precise and controlled processing techniques, starting from breeding selection to the final stages of factory processing. Fed a specially concocted diet of wheat, maize and soya, Silver Hill ducks drink only natural spring water from wells dug on-site.
At 42 to 43 days old, the ducks are harvested for optimum suppleness and then carefully processed—by hand, at many stages—to minimise damage to their delicate skin.
Apart from duck meat, Silver Hill also produces offal, fat, and feathers for luxury duvets and pillows to ensure every part of the duck is sustainably and fully utilised.
Also among the company's many efforts to improve sustainability in duck processing is a commitment to using 100 per cent renewable energy, while also decreasing electricity consumption with weekly monitoring of usage at its facility. It has also worked to reduce water usage in production, and has over the years introduced more recyclable packaging.
In fact, Silver Hill is so committed to the cause that it became a founding member of Ireland’s Origin Green, the world’s first and only nation-wide food and drink industry sustainability programme.
