Cleaning birds

Saturday morning is fast approaching for this WMU :D

My dogs are ready to roll! We got out for a little early goose and had some good times.

When cleaning your birds, what is everyone's preferred method?

My dad has a duck plucker and a scalding vat that I listed in the 'for sale' section on this forum. I tend to breast my birds out and won't be using these pieces of equipment.

What does everyone else do as their preferred method?

For a yummy follow up, how are you looking forward to cooking your first birds of the season?

I usually breast them out cutting the breasts into cutlet size portions.... I take the legs and place them in the crockpot with a little bit of spices this allows me to have some great tasting meals while utilizing most of the bird meat.

Early season I breast out the ducks and remove the legs and thighs, I usually put the legs and thighs in a bag in the freezer until I have enough for a meal and then put them in the slow cooker with bbq sauce and eat them like chicken wings, the breasts I often pound out fill with a firm cheese/jalapeno/sundried tomatoes roll it up and wrap a strip of bacon around it and cook it on a grill mat on the bbq, or just pan fry in bear or bacon fat and slice thin. Late season I dry pick some nice birds, I like brining them in salt water and then putting them on a rotisserie on the bbq putting a case iron frying pan underneath to catch the drippings while frying up potatoes in it.

I'm a good ol' plucker from a long way back LOL. I do them the same way Grandpa and Dad taught me,pluck 'em,gut 'em,stuff 'em with ordinary poultry dressing and roast them like chickens. Bon Appetite.

X2 especially with puddle ducks. We roast them with a whole onion inside and sometimes bacon on the outside. Later in the season we skin divers and bottle them, super tender.

I usually pluck by hand or skin then butterfly them by cutting the back with shears. Makes for easy cleaning of smaller birds. Then I rinse them well and let them sit in the fridge for about a week before I cook them with whatever recipe I feel like trying. Or freeze them.

geese i breast and take out legs and wings without worrying about the guts.
ducks i usually pluck, gut and freeze.

My ducks are breasted, legs removed and heart and gizzard removed.

Giblets go in a soup, leg meat goes to chilli and the breasts are brined and cooked like steak.

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Some great things to consider, thanks for sharing!

Today, I did things a little different and put the breasts on the BBQ..... I let them sit in a marinade (salt, pepper, olive oil) for a night.... Placed them on the BBQ on high heat for 8 minutes on each side..... Took them off, let them sit for a few minutes before I cut them up, taste and look great :)
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7e1c5b2b_c.jpg

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Originally Posted by fratri

Today, I did things a little different and put the breasts on the BBQ..... I let them sit in a marinade (salt, pepper, olive oil) for a night.... Placed them on the BBQ on high heat for 8 minutes on each side..... Took them off, let them sit for a few minutes before I cut them up, taste and look great :)
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7e1c5b2b_c.jpg

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How was the texture? Did the marinade keep them pretty moist?

I did a whole bird in my smoker last weekend it turned out fantastic. It was Flavored like a beautiful roast and fell apart on my fork.

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Originally Posted by fratri

Today, I did things a little different and put the breasts on the BBQ..... I let them sit in a marinade (salt, pepper, olive oil) for a night.... Placed them on the BBQ on high heat for 8 minutes on each side..... Took them off, let them sit for a few minutes before I cut them up, taste and look great :)
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7e1c5b2b_c.jpg

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Hey Frank,

Try keeping them nice and rare in the centre, and I guarantee you'll enjoy them even more!

-Nick

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Originally Posted by Sprite

Hey Frank,

Try keeping them nice and rare in the centre, and I guarantee you'll enjoy them even more!

-Nick

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Ya Nick, I noticed that they were just a bit cooked too much.... I had them on BBQ (highest heat) for 9 minutes on each side, next time I will try 7.5 minutes maybe 8 minutes on each side.... Maybe overcooked just a bit they still tasted good. Looking forward to trying more this way.
Thanks for the tip....

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Originally Posted by dean.f

How was the texture? Did the marinade keep them pretty moist?

I did a whole bird in my smoker last weekend it turned out fantastic. It was Flavored like a beautiful roast and fell apart on my fork.

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All in all they tasted good, not too dry either, next time I will cook them a for a few minutes less making sure to leave a little bit of pink in the centre but like I said, all in all they tasted good. I even shared a few pieces with some co-workers and they were impressed. If I didn't tell them it was goose, they said they would have thought it was beef

Lots of good ideas on here. What's the general internal temperature you cook to for ducks?

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