Cooking duck help

Hey everyone I just came to terms with my self and realize I can't take the taste of duck. Im always in the search of new ways to cook these things to hide the taste and make it more palatable. I found a few recipes over the years that came out good but the next time I try it out, it never comes out the same. What can I do to take away the duck taste. I always brine the duck first when I clean them and take away all blood and silver skin, then marinate for a couple of days. When I cook them its almost medium to medium rare, What else can I do. I enjoy hunting waterfowl so I want to enjoy eating them as well. PLEASE HELP

What species of duck are you trying most often? I find mallards, blacks and teal all very tasty. My favourite way to prepare them is pan frying the breast meat skin on with salt and pepper. No more than medium rare. The legs I save and do them up in batches, cooked on the BBQ with Montreal chicken spice seasoning and basted with a honey based BBQ sauce. Served up like a plate of chicken wings.

Other species of duck like woodies and a lot of divers usually wind up in pepperettes or sausage and as find their meat less desirable.

I know your pain. I love diver duck hunting but don't do it anymore because I don't enjoy the meat.

Good luck in your quest.

Scott




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Originally Posted by soclarke

What species of duck are you trying most often? I find mallards, blacks and teal all very tasty. My favourite way to prepare them is pan frying the breast meat skin on with salt and pepper. No more than medium rare. The legs I save and do them up in batches, cooked on the BBQ with Montreal chicken spice seasoning and basted with a honey based BBQ sauce. Served up like a plate of chicken wings.

Other species of duck like woodies and a lot of divers usually wind up in pepperettes or sausage and as find their meat less desirable.

I know your pain. I love diver duck hunting but don't do it anymore because I don't enjoy the meat.

Good luck in your quest.

Scott




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I usually hunt woodies,teal, mallards, the odd black duck and geese. Thanks for some suggestions

I like to soak mine in a mix of apple cider vinegar and any kind of acidic fruit juice for 4-6 hours in the fridge it takes the gamey out salt pepper and fry in olive oil to a medium


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Originally Posted by Radartrap

I like to soak mine in a mix of apple cider vinegar and any kind of acidic fruit juice for 4-6 hours in the fridge it takes the gamey out salt pepper and fry in olive oil to a medium


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Sounds simple thanks

wrap them in bacon, everything is good with bacon lol

Soak the meat in milk in the fridge. Drain and change the milk every 3 hours ( 2 X) then let soak overnight. This will help to draw the blood, which gives you the strong taste. Cut the meat into strips and put in a slow cooker. Cover the meat with whatever BBQ sauce you like and cook on low for 8 hours. Serve on a bun like you would pulled pork. You can add pineapple chunks for a little sweetness.A buddy of mine felt the same way about duck meat and now looks forward to eating them.

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Originally Posted by Campbery

wrap them in bacon, everything is good with bacon lol

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So true!

I do 3 types of cooking when in the camper using ducks/geese. All are designed to kill the taste of meat and replace the flavours with fresh herbs, cream sauce, red wine sauce, coconut sauce. These are all served over a bed of cheap instant rice. I, like you am not particularly fond of the taste of duck or goose.

All 3 recipes start with a base to start flavor process:

Onions
Mushrooms
Garlic
Peppers
Veg

Fresh herbs, like basil, oregano, sage and thyme
Acid - Wine, lemons or limes

Sauce Base - Coconut milk, heavy cream or Canned milk, Wine, whiskey
Olive oil or butter (both usually)
Sugar - sugar, maple syrup, honey, corn syrup

Cooking process:

Oil and butter, salt and pepper
Caramelize onions - remove set aside
Fry off mushrooms - set aside
Par fry veg (means quick heating and not cooked thru, but browned on high heat) - remove set aside
High heat cook for sliced breast meat - remove.. don't over cook just sear

Add butter or oil as needed during this phase of cooking.

Once everything is cooked, I use the same pan with all that fried off goodness in it. Add your sauce base on high heat..it will clean the burnt bits of the bottom. Once you have scraped all that goodness off the bottom start adding sugar base to taste and reduce until consistency of pancake mix or milkshake. Constantly test for flavor of the base. Make sure you stir often to keep from burning. Too thick of base is ok as long as it does not burn. All your meat veg that has been sitting aside has juices and will help thin the sauce again. Having sauce too runny will only make it take longer to reduce again once the veg/meat are put back in.

Final prep - Place all the veg and meat back into pan and judge the consistency of sauce. Continue cooking on high heat to reduce again until consistency is sufficient to stick to rice.

At this point remove from heat and wait until bubbling stops.

No you are ready to add the best flavors that finish the meal. Add your chopped garlic, lemon and herbs at this point and stir in - taste and add more, or lemon or limes. This where you play with the finishing flavour.

NOTE: Never add the herbs, garlic or lemon until the end. If you cook during the process the intense flavor is cooked away, that is why you wait until end of bubbling process to add herbs and acids.

Serve over a bed of rice, crack some wine and enjoy.

I learned this technique from my buddy who is the Executive Chef at Chateau Laurier and he comes 2-3 time a duck season...that my friends is weekend you want to come. His meals are to die for.

I do all this on the propane two (2) burner stove in the truck camper

Enjoy!! Mark

The only other thing I will add is Diver ducks Teal/Buffel Head. To me they taste like liver and onions...so I cook that way. Caramelize onions, garlic until done. add meat and fry until just cooked. anymore than that it rubbery or dried out.

Enjoy Mark!

It sounds like German cooking...just smother everything in a sauce :)

Chunk up a Spanish onion, an apple and a stalk of celery and get a can of Mandarin oranges. Stuff yer ducks "FULL" with this mixture, put them in a slow cooker, add the rest of the juice from the oranges and let it cook 7-8 hrs. Don't be afraid to add a few spices. Sage, thyme and ginger all work well with Duck. Bon appetit!...................Daniel

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Originally Posted by line052

The only other thing I will add is Diver ducks Teal/Buffel Head. To me they taste like liver and onions...so I cook that way. Caramelize onions, garlic until done. add meat and fry until just cooked. anymore than that it rubbery or dried out.

Enjoy Mark!

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Your exactly right that's how I would describe the taste of ducks. I love liver and onions but I can't stomach the full taste of ducks maybe the texture I don't know


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You can always grind the meat and use it in pasta sauce, burgers, etc.

My my opening day birds I made pulled duck sandwiches covered in poutine gravy. I also make fajitas with them, fry up all the veggies with the seasoning mix and then transfer them out of the pan, put the duck in just long enough to sear the outside, put the veggies back in, toss and serve.

last resort put it in a pile in the freezer with the less desirable birds like scaup and goose to be turned into pepperettes or summer sausage.

Pulled duck tacos, Stew and Duck Parmesan are my favorites.

I think most are along the same vein as me..kill the taste of duck/goose and make some other flavor and then the meat becomes just that; meat filler.

Keep it all and then make sausage when you have enough, thats the best way to eat wild duck and goose in my opinion. My wife hates the taste of wild duck, but she cant resist my sausage ;)

First off don't kill mergansers lol :silly:. I used to shoot them to throw into pepperetes but I swear you can still taste then. Now they get a free pass, and I make it clear to all hunters I'm with that if they shoot one, they have to take it home!!

I like to make jerky with ducks and geese and it turns out really well, except with divers. Use the Canadian tire kits and a smoker or oven with door propped open.

I make a mean skewer with duck or goose. Marinate in soy sauce and/ or teriyaki for two days cut into 1" cubes. Skewer with veggies (zuke, peppers, onions, blanched potatoes etc). Put on grill on medium high heat when veggies are done meat should be medium rare. Served this to a few people who don't eat wild game and most loved it.

I also make some pulled/ stripped duck/ goose recipes similar to above.

i have also made some full plucked, late season mallards in a roasting pan with apple juice, stuffed with apples and bread and roasted. But that had been hit or miss, I haven't mastered the cook times or roasting mixture yet.

if all else fails, divers and any game that doesn't get consumed by mid-winter goes into pepperetes or summer sausage made at a butcher. However a few buddies just got setup with sausage stuffer/ meat grinders so we may try that this year. I have my own manual meat grinder and it's been used twice, and likely will not get used again! It's hard work and messy.

Good luck. Anything but mergansers can be really good if prepared properly.

ps my personal favourite ducks are mallards/blacks, woodies and teals! Never really heard people not liking woodies before, but to each their own.

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Originally Posted by line052

I think most are along the same vein as me..kill the taste of duck/goose and make some other flavor and then the meat becomes just that; meat filler.

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Sad isn't it....but the same can be said for fish...a lot of folks don't like a 'fishy' taste and smother it in sauces to hide the true flavour...sacrilegious I say...the hethans !! LOL...

Duck is my favourite game meat. What is wrong with all of of that you want to disguise the taste so much? :confused: You sound like you're cooking chicken.

Let them hem sit out and come up to room temperature, lightly coat in olive oil, sprinkle with sea or kosher salt, bbq or fry for 2-5 mins per side depending on the size of the duck, let rest for at least as long as you cooked it for, covered in tin foil. Serve with starch and veggies of your choice (I like wild rice since its part of their diet).

woodies, mallards, blacks, redheads, cans, teal, ringers, bills, etc almost all get cooked like this. The only ones that go for sausage are the buffies, goldeneyes, etc.

No merganzers!

i guess I used to be a little like the rest of you when I started hunting ducks but once I realized that it wasn't chicken and theat it had its own distinct flavour, i was game on.

Check out Hank Shaws cookbooks and website if you're looking for game recipes.

My Mom and Grandma used to make a poultry dressing and stuff them and cook them like Cornish Game Hens. Freakin' awesome.

I never cook duck or goose in the oven and always smoke them. Coat them in olive oil,sometimes bacon wrapped, italian herbs and into the smoker. Delicious hot or cold especially on thick crusty white bread with cheese, mustard, spinach, tomatoes, fried spanish onion with a small amount of hot sauce of your choice.

Thanks for all the great ideas, I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels this way

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Originally Posted by boozyleroux

Duck is my favourite game meat. What is wrong with all of of that you want to disguise the taste so much? :confused: You sound like you're cooking chicken.

Let them hem sit out and come up to room temperature, lightly coat in olive oil, sprinkle with sea or kosher salt, bbq or fry for 2-5 mins per side depending on the size of the duck, let rest for at least as long as you cooked it for, covered in tin foil. Serve with starch and veggies of your choice (I like wild rice since its part of their diet).

woodies, mallards, blacks, redheads, cans, teal, ringers, bills, etc almost all get cooked like this. The only ones that go for sausage are the buffies, goldeneyes, etc.

No merganzers!

i guess I used to be a little like the rest of you when I started hunting ducks but once I realized that it wasn't chicken and theat it had its own distinct flavour, i was game on.

Check out Hank Shaws cookbooks and website if you're looking for game recipes.

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They are all too used to eating at " rotten Ronney's , Mac Donalds " that is , same as some that fish , have to have everything "fried in oil "

I was standing at the till once at the grocery store buying some Mackerel..the lady says to me..."oh I don't like that fish, it tastes too fishy." :)

Smoked Mackerel and Pickled Herring is amazing !

I like this one for divers but can use with any duck

http://www.ducks.org/Hunting/Waterfo...y-Duck-Skewers

More good recipes here

http://www.deltawaterfowl.org/huntin...a-recipes.html

This is the best goose recipe I've tried

http://www.outdoorcanada.ca/Goose_We...Gorgeous_Goose

If you ain't gonna eat it....................don't hunt it !!!! Sorry , just my opinion. It made me cringe one time when a group I was with killed a 6 man limit of early season Geese and at the end 2 guys did not want any. Now we were over our limit.......sucks.

Here's one from Turkeyrookie on this forum:

http://www.oodmag.com/community/show...ighlight=goose

It's my favourite way to cook goose, I'm sure it would be just as good with ducks too.
Matt

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Originally Posted by boogaloo

If you ain't gonna eat it....................don't hunt it !!!! Sorry , just my opinion. It made me cringe one time when a group I was with killed a 6 man limit of early season Geese and at the end 2 guys did not want any. Now we were over our limit.......sucks.

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Great Post ! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

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Originally Posted by boogaloo

If you ain't gonna eat it....................don't hunt it !!!! Sorry , just my opinion. It made me cringe one time when a group I was with killed a 6 man limit of early season Geese and at the end 2 guys did not want any. Now we were over our limit.......sucks.

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Hopefully you don't hunt coyotes or other non-prey animals. You are allowed to give meat away. You don't have to eat the meat in order to hunt. You just can't let the meat spoil. Big difference.

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Originally Posted by boogaloo

If you ain't gonna eat it....................don't hunt it !!!!

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That's like saying don't have sex unless you want a baby....LOL...

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Originally Posted by boogaloo

If you ain't gonna eat it....................don't hunt it !!!! Sorry , just my opinion. It made me cringe one time when a group I was with killed a 6 man limit of early season Geese and at the end 2 guys did not want any. Now we were over our limit.......sucks.

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How were over your limit? They were shot by others... unless you were over your posesseion limit....

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Originally Posted by Dythbringer;991457[B

][/B]Hopefully you don't hunt coyotes or other non-prey animals. You are allowed to give meat away. You don't have to eat the meat in order to hunt. You just can't let the meat spoil. Big difference.

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Coyote hides are used, skinned scraped and sold at auction , but not the ones that have mange, in that case hunters by shooting the mangey ones are helping with keeping it from spreading.

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Originally Posted by jaycee

Coyote hides are used, skinned scraped and sold at auction , but not the ones that have mange, in that case hunters by shooting the mangey ones are helping with keeping it from spreading.

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True. But that isn't what boogaloo said.

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Originally Posted by Dythbringer

True. But that isn't what boogaloo said.

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I doubt boogaloo meant it the way it posted. Pretty sure he wasn't thinking about Coyotes because they weren't even mentioned anywhere in the entire thread. :)

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Originally Posted by trimmer21

I doubt boogaloo meant it the way it posted. Pretty sure he wasn't thinking about Coyotes because they weren't even mentioned anywhere in the entire thread. :)

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Exactly !:thumbup:

Did I push someones button??????????? Thought we were talking Water fowl???????. And yes it put us over (posession) limit...............Daniel

use the duck in a curry or jalapeno poppers the spice will cover the flavor of the most fishy duck, putting them into a brine overnight helps alot too i do that with eiders and scoters they taste alot better once the blood is gone

Good thread guys. I was wondering if I did something wrong when I cooked the woodies from last week. I love the mallards but those wood ducks are a whole different taste. I really liked Mark's post as it allows for a great variety of cooking styles.

Tom,

Try this. You will learn to appreciate what duck brings to to table with this. Make sure you use minced garlic and not the paste.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/114442/...d-duck-breast/


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Just want to add that I soak my meat in cold ice salt water for a couple hours as well. Helps tenderize an already tender piece of meat.


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Oh...and if you can drink wine...a big cab sauv works well! :)


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Yumm...so right. Who says we have to be uncivilized when camping...lol

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Originally Posted by BigTurk

Oh...and if you can drink wine...a big cab sauv works well! :)


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Man, hunting ducks and geese and trying to cover the flavour?

Duck and goose has become a staple on the table at home. 2-3 nights a week. Love it!

-Nick

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Originally Posted by Campbery

wrap them in bacon, everything is good with bacon lol

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I'll do you one better. Wrap the filleted duck breast halves with bacon and throw on the grill.

Made the best tasting duck i have ever cooked that didn't have bacon wrapped all over it the other night.

Marinated in tangerine lime salad dressing/Worcestershire sauce overnight...

Then stuffed with apples/mandarin oranges(oranges came from a comment in his thread)...sprinkled with chicken club house chicken seasoning.

Baking dish with 1/4" of chicken broth in the bottom, then 1/2" of chopped onions to keep the bird out of the liquid.

400 degree covered for 50 minutes.

Drain some liquid, set to 500 and put back in with butter melted on top, i did this to both sides for 10 minutes a side.

This is the end result, ate the whole bird to my self it was amazing....nice and tender and the skin was just crisping up....

Legs and skin were the best parts!

http://i499.photobucket.com/albums/r...psboh9ab2m.jpg

Going to do that again only with a few more birds, alot of work for just a single duck!

Jerky. Made some goose jerky in the oven the other day. Pretty neat feeling when you are duck hunting, munching on a bag of home made jerky. Very easy, lots of on-line recipes.

Thanks guys for all the tips. Some I have tried already in the past and some I will try next time I bring some more home. I will post results.

save up a couple of breast throw them in the crock pot with enough chicken broth to cover the meat. then cut up a onion throw some salt pepper , garlic powder and montreal steak spice in. cook on low for 8 hours. pull out of the crock pot and shread and add bbq sauce. taste identical to pulled pork.

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Originally Posted by Brett_68

Made the best tasting duck i have ever cooked that didn't have bacon wrapped all over it the other night.

Marinated in tangerine lime salad dressing/Worcestershire sauce overnight...

Then stuffed with apples/mandarin oranges(oranges came from a comment in his thread)...sprinkled with chicken club house chicken seasoning.

Baking dish with 1/4" of chicken broth in the bottom, then 1/2" of chopped onions to keep the bird out of the liquid.

400 degree covered for 50 minutes.

Drain some liquid, set to 500 and put back in with butter melted on top, i did this to both sides for 10 minutes a side.

This is the end result, ate the whole bird to my self it was amazing....nice and tender and the skin was just crisping up....

Legs and skin were the best parts!

http://i499.photobucket.com/albums/r...psboh9ab2m.jpg

Going to do that again only with a few more birds, alot of work for just a single duck!

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This is basically how I do all my ducks. I prefer to pluck them rather than breast them out, unless they are full of pin feathers, and roast them.

I cook them low and slow for a couple hours, then crisp them up. No problem to eat a couple birds myself this way.

Geese, I breast out and process into pepperettes or kobassa's....or whatever.

S.

I keep it fairly simple.
Soak in Milk
then onto the smoker for 3 to 4 hours

I'll add different spices for rubs and sometimes add some bacon strips. And on occasion add a 60/40 mix of apple juice/water to a spray bottle and spritz occasionally over the last hour

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Originally Posted by JBen

I keep it fairly simple.
Soak in Milk
then onto the smoker for 3 to 4 hours

I'll add different spices for rubs and sometimes add some bacon strips. And on occasion add a 60/40 mix of apple juice/water to a spray bottle and spritz occasionally over the last hour

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Basically what I do with duck and geese. On occasion I put either through the meat grinder and mix a 1/4 pork into the mix for burgers. Italian bread crumbs, one egg, steak seasoning (low sodium), mix up and onto the grill.

Soaking in milk or buttermilk with onions is the key! Smoker is amazing with wild ducks!

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^^^how are you smoking them ie. what temperature and time frame?

This is my favorite way to cook whole wild ducks and Goose legs

Last year I gave my Persian Neighbor a couple of Green heads and she brought us a sample of what she cooked , it was an Amazing traditional Dish Called Duck Fasanjan and we have been using this way ever since. here is a good video on how to make it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMQjO3a1wig

I Hope it works for you

RiverRat88...this thread may give you some recipe ideas for your ducks :)

If you've been brining it, marinading it, and cooking it medium rare, you're SOL. I think your only choice would be to make sausage with lots of cover flavors. At that point, buy some Slim Jims and give the quality game meat to someone who likes to eat it instead.

For my part, I soak legs and breasts in water (changing water every day) for a few days and then marinade in whiskey for an hour or so. Grill medium rare and enjoy.

I've done roast duck 3 times. The first time was 5 star. The other two, the legs were overcooked. I think I'll cover the legs next time.

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Originally Posted by Dead Ringer

If you've been brining it, marinading it, and cooking it medium rare, you're SOL. I think your only choice would be to make sausage with lots of cover flavors. At that point, buy some Slim Jims and give the quality game meat to someone who likes to eat it instead.

For my part, I soak legs and breasts in water (changing water every day) for a few days and then marinade in whiskey for an hour or so. Grill medium rare and enjoy.

I've done roast duck 3 times. The first time was 5 star. The other two, the legs were overcooked. I think I'll cover the legs next time.

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If the legs were overcooked maybe try to spatchcock it...where you cut out the back and flatten it...helps it all cook uniform.

I also enjoy a good whiskey marinade...but after im done marinating there isnt any left for the food....

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Originally Posted by Deer Wrastler

If the legs were overcooked maybe try to spatchcock it...where you cut out the back and flatten it...helps it all cook uniform.

I also enjoy a good whiskey marinade...but after im done marinating there isnt any left for the food....

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Good one! And thanks for the tip.

Also, I bought a Jaccard years ago and am glad that I did. Many of the finest steakhouses use them to loosen up steaks. Great for tenderizing duck, goose, and venison. Also allows the marinade to get into the meat better. If I had to replace mine, I'd certainly buy the one with multiple rows of tines to save my arm some work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGGdNK5smqY

https://www.amazon.ca/Jaccard-45-Kni.../dp/B000A3I3G0

Like you said I wasnt a huge fan of duck taste. few weeks ago watched meat eater on Netflix and seen how he aged cooked some mallard in Guinness thought I would try it. Anyway this duck was honestly the best I have ever tested https://www.google.ca/amp/www.themea...oney-sauce/amp
I also instead of hanging them. I gutted them and put into fridge for a week to age after reading this article http://www.outdoornews.com/2014/01/3...owl-dry-aging/.

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Originally Posted by maildarrencox

Like you said I wasnt a huge fan of duck taste. few weeks ago watched meat eater on Netflix and seen how he aged cooked some mallard in Guinness thought I would try it. Anyway this duck was honestly the best I have ever tested https://www.google.ca/amp/www.themea...oney-sauce/amp
I also instead of hanging them. I gutted them and put into fridge for a week to age after reading this article http://www.outdoornews.com/2014/01/3...owl-dry-aging/.

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I used to fridge age mine using a veggie steamer in a pyrex to allow the blood to drip out. Now I do the soak and find that it is more effective. The Jaccard will take care of the toughness.

Just different ways to skin the same cat.