Home Forums Birds & Dogs Waterfowl Duck flavor

Looks fantastic!

Where I’m at in NC, I primarily hunt divers but make sure to get out for puddle ducks a few times every year. Both types are generally hanging out in salt or brackish water areas and I can’t tell a huge difference in flavor. Wood ducks and puddle ducks that I shoot further inland and have primarily been in fresh water taste noticeably different. Most can be made edible though, for stronger smelling ducks I usually do something like a barbacoa or shredded BBQ where they get brined and then combined with other strong flavors, even works for sea ducks and snow geese.

Divers get sautéed with peppers, onions and fajita seasoning and served on tortillas with cheese and salsa. Puddle ducks get wrapped in bacon and grilled. Both can go into hot dish with mixed wild and long grain rice and seasoned with whatever is in the truck.

Somebody here mentioned brining. And I just did a home made corned beef. I think I just had a brainstorm . . .

Click on this link and follow it down to “Duck and Goose Recipes”. A bonanza of good info there. Thanks MonkeyWrench.

Yep, there is a reason why cans were almost hunted to extinction.

Once acquired an extremely mixed bag and kept everything sorted to the plate. Mallard, ring neck, pintail, golden eye, green wing teal, coot, gadwall, and wigeon. The only universally rejected item was the green winged teal.

Post-college, some old friends shot a good take of blue bills (divers aka as lesser scaup) and proceeded to fix an elegant dinner for ourselves and impress our wives. We impressed ‘Em alright — those ducks baking in the oven (I don’t remember any other refinements we had undertaken) drove us right out of the house to some fast food eatery.

I do like teal and woodies; mallards (all puddlers) are ok. I find Canadian geese ok also but have long ago given up on snow and blue geese.

Main thing with ducks is don't overcook them. Leave some red in the meat & never had liver taste.