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Explanation: Always tricky to find a term that is accurate yet sounds appetizing! But I don't think the FR term is widely enough accepted for you to be able to leave it, unless the restaurant is a pretentiosuly French one, in which case, one might wonder why the menu is being translated at all?
So if the decision has been made to translate, then to me this term DOES need to be translated / explained.
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OK, after further research, I have found what seems to be the accepted translation: 'duck tenderloin' — now THAT sounds appetizing!
I still feel that maybe 'strips of duck tenderloin' could be a helpful guide to the diner; note that there are quite a number of references out there to 'strips' and 'slivers', and even some that specifically make the distinction as I was seeking to between 'strips' and 'slices'.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 3 hrs (2013-09-27 10:35:36 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
This image shows what one Chinese supplier calls 'duck tenderloin' — here, presented in the long strips of classic 'aiguillettes' (though it does of course also exist whole):
I know I am labouring the point, but the key point with aiguillettes is that they are long, thin strips; 'sliced' is all very well (though note that 'proper' aiguillettes aren't sliced at all, they are removed from the carcass whole, whence their shape), but we do need in some way to make clear the ribbon-like nature of them...
Well, turns out you weren't wrong anyway! Victoria has pointed out, and NS OED confirms, that 'slither' is indeed used for 'sliver', and this usage has been around since the early 20th c. So I guess it's just something I'm not familiar with... and you are. Well done!
Thanks, that's a great definition! Once, the aiguillettes were almost throw-away pieces relegated to the poor; but then they became fashionable, and now even attract a premium price!
I don't agree about the term being imported into EN; in my 40-odd years of eating in French-style (and other) restaurants in the UK, I have never once seen this term used; I only found out what it truly meant once I started cooking and eating the things here in FR. While I wouldn't dispute for an instant that it may be being used on menus in some 'French' restaurants in the UK, as I said before, if the restaurant is of the level / style where Asker has been asked to translate the menu in the first place, then simply keeping the FR term is not IMHO an option, it is simply a cop-out. There are of course some FR terms that are widely used and understood in EN, like crème brûlée or crème fraîche, or terrine, or quenelle, or filet mignon; but I honestly don't believe aiguillette has yet reached that status.
"Sliver", rather than "slither", indeed: though "slither" is definitely being used ever more frequently in spoken E, I wouldn't put it on a restaurant menu. I do get your point, Tony, but neither for me really conveys the "aiguillette". Which is presumably precisely why the term has been imported tel quel into E...
I think 'slither' tends more to conjure up slimy, slithery things, doesn't it?
I wonder if you were thinking of 'slivers'? I agree that would be a more appetizing term, but there, I think Phil is again going to object that this would suggest something even skinnier still — like slivers of truffle or foie gras, etc.
I buy these things all the time, and although perhaps 'miserable' was unkind, the fact is, they are always long narrow, and thin(nish); quite the opposite of sliced duck breast, which is usually sliced across the width of the breast, and tends to be small, oval-ish, and thicker. So whatever term is finally used, I think itis very important (and I feel sure any FR chef would agree with me!) to differentiate clearly between a classic 'sliced duck breast' and this duck meat that is sliced.
Quite, which is why I didn't post that as an answer! Although as Phil says, and if Google is to be considered as an acceptable element of the research toolkit (discuss...), the definition of the term does seem these days to have broadened to include some wider and fatter pieces than the name suggests.
I agree with your overall comment, but do please note that 'aiguillettes' are not really accurately described as 'sliced duck breast' — they are really rather miserable strips, not decent 'slices' at all. So I think another term is needed...
Although Clompy is right, "aiguillettes" is less widely used (and therefore understood) in EN than in FR, and it might be better to use something like "sliced duck breast" depending on the style of restaurant.
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Answers
4 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +2
Aiguillettes
Explanation: like many culinary terms, the English name is taken straight from French
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peer agreement (net): +2