Here's my take on ducks. First, store bought duck and wild duck are 2 different animals on the plate. It's like comparing corn fed beef to wild elk or deer, they're just not the same. Second, duck (and from here on when I refer to duck, it's wild duck, blasted out of the sky) shouldn't be over cooked, medium at the most (same with geese). Third, there's a lot of variation in taste with duck depending on what they've been feeding on. So, lumping them into either "they all taste like sh%t" or "they're the best tasting meat on the planet" isn't really fair. I've had teal that was simply fantastic and also a mallard or 2 that must have been feeding on a cow turd pond that had to be thrown away they smelled so bad. And lastly, if you're going to the trouble of going out to kill them, put them to use. Play with recipes until you find some that work.
My favorite ways to eat ducks and geese are as poppers or breasted and brined then smoked with apple wood and cut thin or jerky or ground up and made into summer sausage and pepperoni sticks. Honestly, I really enjoy hunting waterfowl more than I like eating waterfowl, my wife loves it though so I keep going. And it's good exercise for the dog!
