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Home » Meal of the Week » A Quacky Dinner On United Airlines
Meal of the WeekUnited Airlines

A Quacky Dinner On United Airlines

Matthew Klint Posted onJune 20, 2020November 14, 2023 16 Comments

Each week, my Meal of the Week  feature examines an airline meal from my travels over the years. This may be a meal from earlier in the week or it may be a meal served over a decade ago.

Duck is a fairly common appetizer in an airplane premium cabin, but it is rare to see it as a main course. In fact, in all my years of flying I’ve had duck as a main course only once. It happened to be on United Airlines and happened to be very tasty.

I’m still somewhat homebound due to pandemic-related shutdowns and my wife recently had a baby. That has left me with primary cooking responsibility, something I now greatly enjoy. As oddly as it sounds, I’m drawing inspiration from airline meals. Tonight’s special: duck.

The inspiration came from a flight from Los Angeles to London in 2017. On the menus:

Char siu duck

Swiss chard with pancetta, sautéed apple

My understanding is that char siu means Chinese-style barbecue. However with the chard, pancetta, and sautéed apple the dish didn’t seem (or taste) very Chinese to me…

That said, I thought it was a very delicious combination and one of the better main courses I have had on United (which may be, sadly, why I have not seen it on the menu in a couple years).

Confession that will turn the stomachs of my dear vegetarian readers: I love the skin. It was crispy and delicious.

a plate of food on a blue place mat

a plate of food on a table

Anyway, this is my dinner goal for tonight. Maybe one day I’ll do a cooking program like Ben and Tiffany did…

What is your favorite airline meal to make at home?

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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16 Comments

  1. Parker Reply
    June 20, 2020 at 4:01 pm

    Ah, I love duck! It is underutilized in American kitchens, in my opinion. Duck breasts are so easy too – score the skin, season, and into a very hot pan! Doesn’t need more than salt and pepper

  2. Ginger Reply
    June 20, 2020 at 4:19 pm

    Braised short ribs. Hard to screw them up.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      June 21, 2020 at 11:56 am

      And yet they still somehow turn out mostly dry on United.

      • Diane Reply
        June 23, 2020 at 5:24 am

        Not today. It was moist with a delicious side sauce and the beef just fell apart. Mmmmm!

  3. JoeMart Reply
    June 20, 2020 at 9:11 pm

    Delta used to serve Long Island duck breast in J from JFK. Scrumptious! The secret is to score the skin and render the fat slowly until crispy. Sweet reduced sauces enhance the flavor. Bon Appetit!

  4. Paolo Reply
    June 20, 2020 at 10:03 pm

    I learned how to make mezze, including baba ganoush, hummus, tzatziki, tabbouleh. Normally I buy these at the deli, but it closed for 3 months, including takeout. They’re very easy and taste better than store-bought.
    I would never eat duck , not for all the tea in China. Such beautiful birds..

    • Aaron Reply
      June 21, 2020 at 1:30 am

      Each and every single mezze dish? Beyond the 4 you mentioned? Impressive, given there are dozens and dozens of dishes that fall under the mezze moniker…

  5. Island Miler Reply
    June 20, 2020 at 10:15 pm

    Duck is amazing! And the skin if the best part! I also love crispy chicken skin 😉

  6. Scott Reply
    June 21, 2020 at 9:22 am

    Might want to add “and I” after “my wife” in the first sentence.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      June 21, 2020 at 10:57 am

      It wasn’t me squeezing her out! 😉

  7. Mikey Reply
    June 21, 2020 at 10:30 am

    Duck confit makes an occasional appearance on Qatar in Business. It’s always been perfectly cooked in my experience too.

  8. KK Reply
    June 21, 2020 at 3:20 pm

    The only 2 cuisines that can do duck justice would be Chinese (PEK style) and French (à la orange). But to have this option on a flight? It’s rather daring, if not avant garde, for the flight menu. The fatty oils will keep the full flavor at 35000’ and the it will also retain moisture better than other meats served.

    And duck confit on QR: it’s cheating because you’re serving coarsely chopped leftover duck (often served cold) instead of serving a full cut of meat.

  9. Yuki K. Reply
    June 22, 2020 at 4:28 pm

    I found a small typo.

    This is “Char Siu” Duck, not Char Sui. 叉焼鴨 in Chinese/Japanese.
    …and I loved this duck when UA started Polaris.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      June 22, 2020 at 6:13 pm

      Thanks Yuki!

  10. Lisanne Zabka Reply
    June 23, 2020 at 9:47 am

    As a United flight attendant, during many years of travel, entrees featuring duck have become more prominent. We had Duck a l’orange served on Flights leaving several countries in Europe, and it went over well. I thought it was moist and flavorful. Our flights from Beijing frequently served duck breast, and they were pretty good, too, albeit more popular with the Chinese.

  11. dot Reply
    June 23, 2020 at 5:49 pm

    had a great filet on DL biz once but best meals overall on Lufthansa First Class …starting with the caviar and champagne,,

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