I used to eat every bird I shot, out of principle. Hooded Mergansers weren't as bad as Red Breasted Mergansers. I had a hard time eating bluebills. It's a great incentive to learn your ducks and stop shooting them. We'd breast them, soak the meat in milk and flour and deep fry. That or the long soak in Texas Pete, flour and deep fry. I must provide a disclaimer to the previous, that I have used a merganser or bluebill as a strategic weapon more than once. A properly placed merganser in the vehicle of the class bully or in the windshield wash bucket at your friend's garage was funny. A bluefish in the toilet tank, bluegills in the hubcaps... yada yada.
