Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation eating ducks

There are two ways I like duck. The first is bottled in a pressure canner. Basically all you do is cut your whole plucked (not skinned) duck into chunks with a cleaver. Stuff them in a Mason jar and add about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a couple or four whole peppercorns. Add no liquid. Can under high pressure for about 90 minutes. When they're cool and set up about half the bottle will be full of gelatin from the duck and the meat will be tender and falling from the bone. You can eat it from the bottle and the gelatin is the best part. Use it to spread on buns or bread instead of butter. Prime growlies for camp or home.
<br>
<br>The second way is flash roasted. I use a set of Kershaw game shears and from a plucked duck I cut lengthwise down either side of the backbone so the whole spine comes away in one piece. It's no big trick to completely bone out the rest of the carcass. I didn't always do it this way but steel shot and cracked teeth made me look for a better way of examining the meat to be sure I got all those pesky pellets out.
<br>
<br>With your boned out duck (with the skin still on if you please) you 'll find you can roll the duck into a nice neat roll. If you're inclined you can put a bit of onion, garlic, orange slices or what have you inside the roll. I also spice it a bit with Cajun Blackening seasoning and salt.
<br>
<br>Preheat your oven to 500-550 degrees, and put your duck meat on a foil lined cooky sheet with the foil forming high sides to catch some of the splatter. Roast for about 20-25 minutes at that high heat. Remove from oven and let duck rest for about 5 or 10 minutes.
<br>
<br>With no bones in it you can slice it up from one end to the other.
<br>
<br>The object is to have duck meat that is quite rare in the middle and well darkened on the outside. A friend who is a Chef (with a capitol C) says they should be "bloody". After trying them the way he suggested I have to agree.
<br>
<br>I got so tired of ducks cooked dry and tough that when he gave me "the word" I could hardly wait to try it. It's a better dimension of duck cookery I guarantee it.
<br>
<br>If you have a favorite sauce you like to serve on duck go for it whether it has orange, cranberry, or whatever in it. I like them just fine without.
<br>
<br>Anybody else got a favored method of cooking them?
<br>
<br>

Yes, I dress and pluck the duck, stuff it with onion, celery and spices. I place it on a red oak board, baste with cranberry sauce and rost in the oven untill done. Then I throw away the duck and eat the board. It is more tender and tastes better.
<br>
<br>You can keep the ducks, give me all the geese.

I clean all mine up well, and open/remove the shot channels.
<br> I then soak for 2 hours in a strong salt water solution. Change the water and do this over night if possible. This takes away some of the strong taste. If over night, you may marinate in wine, etc.
<br> Rub the bodies, with the skin on, with salt and crushed garlic. Stuff with celery and onion chunks.
<br> Cook in oven at 500 - 525 degrees for 20-25 minutes. The duck(s) should be rare. Yummy. E
<br>

If, as penance for some sin, I am forced to eat a duck I will bone out the breast and along with the legs marinade in redwine vinegarett salad dressing. Then grill over high heat for @ five minutes a side.
<br>I had a complicated recipe of mine for duck published in the NRA cookbook and while good it is more trouble than a duck is worth . If anyone is intrested I'll dig the book out and tell you what page it is on.
<br>
<br>BCR

Guys, I can't quite grasp why you fellows seem to not favor ducks much. We select mallards, pintail and teal primarily. A lot of them are marsh birds but birds feeding in some marshes taste better than those from other marshes depending on plant species present. A lot of the ducks I've shot and eaten were grain fed from the Peace River country of BC and Alta. I much prefer them to Canada geese which tend to be a bit tougher although the flavor is good. I try to get the bulk of my birds late in the season which for this area is late Oct- ober and November. Freezeup finally moves them out about mid-Nov. . Pintails and most teal are early migrants and are pretty much gone by mid-October. (Ticks me off 'cause I can't get any full plumage bull sprigs for fly tying feathers up here). Field care is the main key to a good eating duck. I pluck them and clean them as I pick them up and carry bottles of clean water to flush the cavity clean.
<br>
<br>If you've never canned them I recommend it highly, it's my favorite high calorie lunch meat. besto.

Stocker, It just means more for us. I was up in your area on the 16th of July, on the way to spend the day at Barkerville. But as I was with the family and in-laws had no time to stop and try and find you. So for now your food is safe from me, hope you kept some in the freezer. And I hear the Hunting Regulations are out, have you got yours yet? I am going to check online for them.

Parts: Yep got my regs but haven't dug into them yet. Not quite sure what I'm going to do for the early season as I'm being plagued with a bad shoulder this spring and summer and can't support a rifle from the off-hand position. Hoping to get it worked out this month with physio etc. . If you are coming up here again let me know in advance and I'll get my phone number to you.(unlisted)
<br>My son stopped in on the weekend with a couple of rifles for restocking/refinishing. One a Brown-precision which is certainly light enough but I am not too impressed with the care and quality of the rough inletting nor the exterior gel coat which is full of voids. However with a bit of glazing compound, a lot of inletting and about two glass bedding kits to fill barrel channel and inletting voids I think it'll be fine. It ticks me that they didn't get either swivel stud insert on the center line as well but he'll have to live with that as they are a threaded steel insert which don't suit most commonly available studs (the studs not being threaded full length but the insert requires them to be so.)
<br>besto

Boggy,
<br>
<br>You said it much better than I could have. I wouldn't eat a duck on a bet....
<br>
<br>
<br>Bill

As they say "Duck ain't half bad" it also says duck ain't half good either. All the wild ducks I have eaten or tried to eat seem to taste kind of fishy must have something to do with the proximity to salt water. Some one tried to tell me that them grey and white ones are sea gulls not ducks...could be the problem.
<br>
<br>Bullwnkl.

Winky you reminded me of a time when we gave this guy a dressed buzzard and told him it was a sea duck. He ate it and then we were afraid to tell him what it really was that he ate.
<br>
<br>BCR

Like somebody said, shoot the right ducks, and dress them out soon. Then soak them in salt water. If you don't cook them much past rare, they are delicious. About the only wild game my non-hunting family members fight for. E

Boggy, tell me you didn't do that. A buzzard ?
<br> I know a guy that served a "mystery dish" at a wild game dinner one night. Everyone had seconds.
<br> Later, he told everyone what they had eaten. It was Mojave Moose. E

E I'll have to admit that I done it. We hunted the rice farms down on Lissie Prairie one year. First time we went we sacked up the ducks. This one old boy wanted to go bad but his wife wouldn't let him. She was a real B---h with a capital B. He wouldn't do a thing but Yes dear. Acted like a whipped pup around her. We made up another trip and she still wouldn't let him go but made him make us promise to bring them some duck to eat.
<br>Wouldn't you know it we didn't even so much as see a durn duck that trip. One guy, out of boredom, popped this buzzard that was sailing by. We all looked at each other and with one voice said "DIANNE."
<br>We gave this wetback that worked on the farm two dollars to clean and dress this poor old dead buzzard. Big Turkey buzzard it was.
<br>Iced it down in the ice chest and delivered it to them. She said it was an awfully big duck. We told her it was a rare Mexican blue footed sea duck or some such line of BS.
<br>They roasted it and even made dressing and gibblet gravy for the durn thing as we had included the gizzard and liver with the defunct buzzard. A few of the chosen got an invite to supper but all declined the honor. Had other engagements, don't you know.
<br>It didn't kill them but she said that Mexican blue footed sea ducks were stronger flavored than the ducks they were used to eating.
<br>I don't think they ever had any kids either.
<br>Lost touch with them years ago and unless they read this board they still don't know what it was they ate. We sure never told them.
<br>BCR
<br>

Bogg Man you be Bad HEE HEEE HEEEE.
<br>
<br>During my days of higher education I attended a very liberal liberal arts college, The Evergreen State College, some of you may have heard of it. My self I was the token red neck.
<br>Well during a paticular sad occasion, the election of Bill klinton, the students were celebrating with great jubliation and abandonment. Me I just plodded on. As the time came for our monthly pot luck in one of my classes I decided to clean out my freezer. Way in the back under the green mystery stuff there hidden in a mini glacier lie a round of bear sausage. Now this stuff had to be at least two years old probably more. So here was my contribution to the celebration. Now a lot of the pink, green and blue haired body pierced, products of parents of the 60's would not let any animal flesh pass over their studded tungs. So a plan was hatched, I would tell them a LIE. I invented a good lie, not a lick of truth in it but a good story.
<br>"You see this here sausage is the product of very careful preperation. I had the honor to have been with my good friend Jacbob Lawerence", who by the way is or was a famous Alaskan native artist whom I met once. Well seems Jacbob has now become a local Skokomish indian. "My so called Indian buddy and I killed the bear.
<br>We proceded to take the bear to the reservation and have it blessed by the local shaman. After the blessing a great ceramony was enacted to send the bear to his ancestors." A lot of beer was consumed.
<br>Now the Greeners ate this story up and that old freezer burned sausage... none was left, even some of the anti meat eaters tried a tiny hunk so as they could partake in some phoney ritual. People will believe any thing and eat anything as long as they don't know the truth.
<br>
<br>Bullwnkl.

Thats a good one Winky. Eating old dried up bear sausage and making it special by praying over it. Har Har de Har.
<br>Reminds me of the time my youngest two boys was just house ape stage and going through the "When I grow up I'm going to be a -------" At the time they were set on being Indians.
<br>We went to Indian city or nation or some such in Oklahoma. Big tourist trap place where you could walk around with a sure 'nuf Indian and watch the dances and ceremonies and such.
<br>Had a nice museum which I enjoyed until I noticed how regular the stiching was on the buckskin garments. Machine made for sure. Oh Well!
<br>Any way the hilight of the deal was an Indian meal with real Indians in attendance. We bought tickets. The kids eyes was out on stalks. After wandering around and seeing the sights we came to the place to eat. Had Buffalo jerky (yeah, I'll bet) roast Elk ( sure it was ) boiled corn, beans and squash ( direct from the local Piggly Wiggley) fry bread, etc. etc. All the Indians in full regalia standing around and looking wise and fierce. Big pic nic tables to eat at and you got your drinks drawn from Marmite cans ( wondered where the fierce Indians got marmite and paper plates). Just before we were to eat the boys had to go. No place in sight so I just led them around behind a teepee. There was a chief, feather bonnet, breast protector, beaded moccasins and all sitting in a canvass lawn chair eating a hamburger and washing it down with a Pabst Blue Ribbon. Talk about disolusioned!! Boys decide to be firemen when they grew up.
<br>
<br>BCR

Bog Dude, as many have found out way too late I am a nefarious prankster. My true fame is in my mind only as I never let on to the joke. I need not entertain others by exposing their foolishness to them. it is enought to know that I have pulled the wool oversome poor fools eyes and he still believes what he see's. Your Indian village may have been a hoax but they were making money on the hoax. Some folks like your self see through and past the smoke and mirrors, others want to see themselfs in the mirrors and bathe in the smoke.
<br>Many years ago I lost a good friend due to a small practicle joke I played on him, I still think it was quite funny, any way this guy was a real ladies man, Gods gift to the oppsite sex. Me being the lowdown sneak that I was came up with the plan of the year and it was a doosie, I set this soon to be former friend up with a blind date with another guy. I think my former friend still harbors a grudge against me some 30 years later.Oh well no one is perfect. Even my cat is not immune, he is a big black tom, rather ordinary as cats go so I thought he needed a little change in outlook or at least in looks. So I got out a paint stick, nontoxic used for marking stainless steel food prep equipment, and I painted flames on the cat. I sort of got in deep trouble on the home front as the next day the cat was schedualed to go see the vet for some shots or something The wife was stuck trying to explane to the vet how this black cat came to have yellow flames painted on him. Best flame job I ever did.
<br>
<br>Bullwnkl.

I would have loved to have seen that cat. I have the unfortunate habit of sometimes shooting my mouth off before I stop to ponder it. Been sort of frosty around here too because of that. Friend of the wifes, who is an inveterate animal lover, thinks rodeos are cruel, circus are inhumane, and already don't like me too much 'cause I hunt, was here the other night. You know the type, has a poodle named FiFi and thinks it is human.
<br>Anyway, she was mourning and moaning about those whales that beached them selves on Cape Cod. You probably saw it on the news. She just carrying on something fierce about what a tragedy it was. Capper was when she said what loving and intelligent animals they were. I just asked her if they were so damn smart why did they try to swim up on dry land, twice.
<br>Pretty cool at the dinner table that night.
<br>
<br>BCR

Boggy,
<br>
<br>we need you in politics, man badger

Gents,
<br>
<br>This has been the best set of chuckles I have had in ages!
<br>Thank you!
<br>
<br>Bill

Oh, BTW, I still don't like duck!
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>Bill

Well Stocker, we will be on our way through there October 17, we are heading up to Taltapin Lake for moose. I hope your shoulder is doing better.

Since we're talking practical jokes here... I used to work in the ER of a hospital in Detroit, MI. As you can well imagine, people expired with frightening regularity. Part of my job was to transport the dearly departed to the morgue in the basement. When we got newbies, we made sure that they participated in the processing of the,now room temperature, patient. We would set it up where they would go with one of the oldtimers to the morgue. In the meantime, another of us (modesty prevents me from divulging who) would run ahead and climb into the appropriate refrigerator. The hapless newby would come in, open the door and the individual in the reefer would spring out and yell. I'm certain that at least a couple of people still have nightmares over that one.
<br> I could go on for hours about the ER. The show on TV is the Disney version of what goes on there.

In the early 'Fifties, one of our guys at the Naval Photographic Center brought this yarn back from the naval hospital at Bethesda.
<br>
<br>Seems that a Medal of Honor winner had died at that hospital, and his body -- dressed in USMC dress uniform -- was lying in state in a special room, under 24-hour guard (another Marine in dress uniform). During the wee hours of the morning, the bored guard craved a stir.
<br>
<br>He got one.
<br>
<br>He propped the deceased in a sitting position against one wall, with his M1 alongside, and lay down in the open casket -- knowing that an orderly would soon come in with coffee and doughnuts.
<br>
<br>Orderly arrived as expected -- with expected tray -- nudged "sleeping sentry" and warned, "Hey, Mac, you better wake up! They catch you sleepin', it's yo ass. Here's some coffee and doughnuts for ya."
<br>
<br>Sentry in casket sat up, snapped his fingers, and said "Here, Boy -- if he doesn't want 'em, I'll take 'em."
<br>
<br>Our guy swore he'd seen the coffee stains on the ceiling.

Just about bust a gut laughing over that one Ken, I bet you there were other stains on the floor to go with them coffee stains on the ceiling.

A certain character noted for his poaching and excessive drinking habits once informed me that he had found a really good marsh close to town where he had no trouble getting his limit. Hoping that the ducks might do him grievous harm I never let him know that he was hunting on the town's sewage lagoons. These were truly $hit ducks. True to his usual behavior he was hunting where a city bylaw prohibited same. Wasn't in my jurisdiction, so didn't feel any obligation whatsoever to warn him off.

One of my friends in Alaska, Willie M, resides in memory after nearly half a century for several reasons. Two, for instance:
<br>
<br>Willie and his partner stole a boxcar -- by HAND. One night just before the first permanent snow of the year, they crow-barred it out of the rail yard, down the tracks, onto an all but forgotten siding obscured by weeds and saplings. They used it all winter, as a line cabin on their trap line.
<br>
<br>Willie got along well with his partner's dad but NOT AT ALL with the sister and mom -- who were double living proof that they didn't have to be rich to rhyme with it. After one outstandingly unpleasant encounter with the sister, Willie bought her a big box of chocolates for Christmas -- "spiked" with a handful of replacement pieces that Willie had carefully prepared and had carefully placed in the box in specific locations that the partner and his dad knew to avoid.
<br>
<br>Willie's partner and the dad kept mum and straight-faced Christmas morning (Willie wasn't there) when the sister oohed and aahed over Willie's unexpected gift -- and the sister and mom virtually competed to see who could chomp down chocolates faster. Sure enough, the first two chocolates they popped in their mouths were Willie's chocolate-coated moose marbles.
<br>
<br>Then everybody came unglued in remarkably different ways.

I never fooled around with human cadavers much but one we did may be worth telling. Place near me had a hunting cabin and the boys that used it were friends of mine. I didn't hunt with them but would visit at night for games of chance and liquid refreshments.
<br>
<br>Across the road and down aways was another camp. One of the inhabitants of that camp came over to visit his neighbors. When he walked in there was a bottle of Johnny Walker sitting on the table. His eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store.
<br>
<br>Got to be a regular habit. He showed up every night and wouldn't leave until almost poured out. He was really a nice old boy and funny and not a problem drunk but just a lush and moocher. He also had weak kidneys. No body had the heart to really crawl him they just wanted him to leave.
<br>
<br>Somebody killed this big stinking boar hog and hauled it into camps. We proped the poor dead thing up in the outhouse behind the cabin.
<br>
<br>Long about good dark here come the lush with a big thirst. He was about seventeen sixteenths drunk when he had to go. Staggered out to the outhouse, bottle in hand, and pushed the door in. It hit one of the stiff outstreched legs of that hog and bounced shut.
<br>
<br>"Scusshe, me," he said.
<br>
<br>Stood there nipping at the bottle and holding himself. Started to jig from one foot to the other.
<br>
<br>"Hey, come on buddy, I got to go," he said. NO response of course. Jigged a little more. Kicked the door and it slammed shut again.
<br>
<br>Stood there a little more. Faster jig. "Come on, man," he says. Pushed the door open and peeked around it into the outhouse. HARRRRRRuuunh he said backpedling. Fell down, sat up, looked at the bottle in his hand and flung it at the outhouse. Got up and staggered out of sight in the general direction of his own camp. Never came back either.
<br>
<br>We were almost chewing our arms off keeping from laughing out loud.
<br>
<br>BCR
<br>
<br>

You guys that don't like duck either have to stop shooting shovellers and mergansers, or learn how to cook! Holy Moly you don't know what you're missing out on. Flavourful, tender, deeeeeeelicious! My two pre-school girls LOVE duck and goose done this way.
<br>
<br>I age my birds up to a week when the temp. is hovering just above freezing. Breast meat and legs are removed and washed. Slice breast across the grain into 1-2" strips. Marinate overnight in red wine and a little soya sauce. Put all the meat and marinade, and an eighth cup of olive oil in a covered casserole dish with any of your other favourite flavour enhancers - garlic, ginger, liquid smoke, onions, brown sugar, lemon juice, BBQ sauce, etc. Cook at 250F for 1 to 1-1/2 hours. The meat should be fork tender, and almost falling off the leg bones. Best with rice, either wild, brown, herbed, or basmati.
<br>
<br>I ga-ron-TEE you will go back for seconds.
<br>
<br>grouseman