Eating your kill - Ducks

[SouthSantiamSlayer]

What kind of ducks are say the best eating?
Are there any the anyone would say to not kill cause they are bad eating?
I've had Mallard and teel. It was ok. Goose is better then duck to me.

[merrile]

In my opinion barbequed teal. on the rare side is awesome! Mallard is second best!

[xstreme357]

i think birds on the east side eat better than the birds over on this side.

[sprigkiller09]

Wood Ducks are by far my favorite. Teal are a close second.

Worst: well it depends on what they were eating. They can all be bad but spoonies and wigeon can be a bit stronger than other ducks. But they just go in the pepperoni or jerky pile!!

[ICHTHYDEMON]

I've eaten just about all of them.

I really don't have any favorites,I pretty much like them all.

If I had to choose,I'd probably take a Teal.

[Opportunist]

We mix all of our waterfowl 50/50 with pork and make beer dogs at the end of the season. Covers up the duck/goose flavor, but stills utilizes the meat.

[CarBiz]

We turn everything into Peperroni, Jerky or Sausage...that way they all taste the same!

CB

[fishgetter]

They are all bad,,,,

My favorite recipie is,,,,,,,

Soak in marinade over night.

Put a stick through the duck....

Roast over a BBQ for 30 min or so.

Then remove,,,,,,throw away the duck and eat the stick!!!!!

HMMMM GOOD!!!!!

[SouthSantiamSlayer]

Originally Posted by fishgetter

They are all bad,,,,

My favorite recipie is,,,,,,,

Soak in marinade over night.

Put a stick through the duck....

Roast over a BBQ for 30 min or so.

Then remove,,,,,,throw away the duck and eat the stick!!!!!

HMMMM GOOD!!!!!

I just about agree with ya!!!

But the Beer/sausage dog is a real good idea!
I need to order some sausage making supplies from cabela's!

[Hunt'nFish]

Teal is MY favorite, pintail second.
Divers I can pass on.

My favorite uses for duck is in Teriaki stir fry and fajitas. Cook in spices and toss in the fridge to rest 1/2day. Yum.

Goose thighs pressure cooked in BBQ sauce and the forked to shred. Pack in butter tubs and freeze for football parties. Warm, serve on buns smothered in more BBQ sauce.

Goose breasts I like to bake in wild rice & mushroom soup. Again best if you let it rest and rewarm tomorrow.
Hunt'nFish

[baltz526]

Mergansers are the best eating duck by far. everyone should fill your limits with these prime birds. in my opinion they are twice as good as coots

[Artwo]

coot..........................

Sorry, there's a story behind that statement

[D3smartie]

I find that the majority of the people that dont like duck, have never had it prepared well and most likely have over cooked it if they tried...

I prefer to eat grainfed fat mallards from the eastside. plucked and roasted.
18min @ 425
15min @ 350

The sauce I make is
1/3 cup brandy
1/3 cup sherry
stick of butter
scoop of currant jelly
tbsp worcestershire

The sauce goes in a pyrex measuring cup in the over with the birds. Make sure the alcohol is cooked off.
Remove the ducks breast and legs. Place in sauce, in oven for 1-2 min. serve with wild rice.

[death roe]

i used to duck hunt alot when i was younger and wondered why i had to clean all those ducks for my step dad ,just so he could give them away , a few years ago i tried some duck , now i know why nasty stuff there

[Old Guys Rule]

1) Fat teal plucked and BBQ whole

2) Corn fed mallard breast plucked and cut away whole - still on the breastbone - cook on BBQ or roast in red wine with onions @350 for 40 minutes.

3) All else gets breasted out and turned into pepperoni.

I can marinate most ducks with the "Duck Lady's" recipe book using vinegar, wine, or citris juice as a base and stir fry with opinons and peppers so most people can't tell the difference between duck and beef.

Goose I have never been able to make anything edible out of except pepperoni.

Coot and mergies? It is all about hanging it properly. Place on a cedar plank in the sun for a week, throw away the bird, eat the cedar plank.

[billc_sbio]

I've been hunting these things for awhile now...and in a few different states as well.

I think that Teal are the best tasting day over day, and that's strange because they eat a lot of carion.

It's almost a toss up between Corn fed Mallards and Corn Fed Pintails, but since now we can only shoot 1 Sprig/day, that makes it easy...Mallards!

I know Wood Ducks are supposed to be good, but I've never eaten enough to really get to find out.

Widgeon, being the full on vegetarians that they are ought to be great...but to my taste they're only so, so, sometimes.

Spoonies...well if you like liver...I'll pass!

To me, the very best treat is grilled Mallard legs, done with the skin (& fat) still on!

[billc_sbio]

Originally Posted by Old Guys Rule

Goose I have never been able to make anything edible out of except pepperoni.

Ya know, I'd have to agree on the wild Geese...

BUT a while ago (and it was...like 15+ yr.s ago now) there was this meat market over in Progress called "Ron's Meats" (don't know if anyone here remembers it?)

Anyway an old hunting buddy of mine told me, "Hey, have you ever taken any wild game over to Ron's in Progress and had it smoked? You should! Take a goose over and have him do it."

So I did...what the hey?

About a week later Ron calls me up and says, "Your Goose is done, come pick it up"

I went over and got it and took it home...

We sliced it up and it was very moist, not dry at all and had this purplish-red color to the meat...sorta like Corned Beef.

Wow, all I can say is that was some of the BEST TASTING meat (of any kind) I've ever eaten!

I'm tellin you IF it was legal to sell wild waterfowl meat, and if I could smoke goose like that that Ron did, I'd have customers lined up down the block and around the corner waving their $$$ to buy some!

Ron sold his Meat Market and I wonder if he's even still alive anymore...he wasn't a youngster back then.

I'd almost KILL to have his Smoking Recipe and procedure...it WAS that Good!

[Got Fish?]

Not to hijack the thread a bit but, all you guys with jerky recipes and processes can you give your best brines again? I've searched the recipes and find some things with brines but I really want stuff related to duck and goose. Thanks

[Adjhunt]

If you don't like duck, its because you don't cook it right, or someone didn't cook it right for you.

My Uncle is always asking me for duck, and I have people all over my church that want it from me. But you have to wrestle me for it!

I LOVE duck.

Fav has gotta be teal, but because they have such little meat on them I would go with wigeon next. Then next would be Mallards, and pintail.
Also like Smilies, redheads, bluebills, ringneck, and I haven't tried Wood ducks because I have never got the chance to shoot one, but I bet you I would like it

But I do draw the line at "Lawn Darts" (mergansers) euh

My sister didn't like duck awhile ago. And now with how I cook it she loves it too! and shes always eats any leftovers....

You guys that don't like it are missing out!

[nevermiss]

I've hunted ducks and geese since I was 12 and as far as duck goes I think corn-fed mallard is the tastiest. Teal are good, too, but a lot smaller. I don't shoot mergensers and try not to shoot spoonies, but a friend of mine does and makes "duckeroni" out of 'em--he likes it. I like my ducks sorta "gamey tasting" which may explain why I rarely pass up a coot which is in range. I used to go with the marinating business, but prefer not to now--takes away from the taste I prefer. As was said, most folks who dislike ducks probably haven't eaten a very well prepared one. Personally, I like to skin 'em out, my opinion is that a lot of the bad flavor leaves with the fat.

[OutdoorBum]

Originally Posted by baltz526

Mergansers are the best eating duck by far. everyone should fill your limits with these prime birds. in my opinion they are twice as good as coots

Oh man! You nailed it on the head! Baby pterodactyl is to die for...

[WSU]

I am obviously missing the boat because I don't like ducks or geese. They don't taste good and to make them edible you have to marinate them and mask the flavor. Somebody tell me what I'm doing wrong. Recipes, cooking, preparation, the whole works. I hear over and over that people that don't like ducks are doing it wrong, which appears to be the majority of people that have tried ducks (including many diehard water fowlers). I would like to know how to make them taste good. I enjoy duck hunting, but don't do it much because I don't like eating them.

[AtItAgain]

1. Filbert feed Woodducks.
2. Mallards
3. Teal

[duckboy]

Hmm it is a toss up between a fat park duck
and a Sawbill that is busting with needlefish.

Here is the deal and the cure all for any and all wild migratory bird:
1/3 part soy sauce
1/3 part honey or sugar
1/3 part Oyster sauce
and 48 hrs in the refrigerator

Then cook it hot and fast like you wanted to burn it.
in a red hot pan with a splash of 10w 30 or some other oil.
when it is cooked on the outside and warm in the middle ... you eat it,

be sure to give some to your dog, since you'd be standing there with your thumb up your call without him/her.

[Teton]

The grain-fed Mallards I grew up on still make my mouth water. My Mother would slow fry whole breasts breaded with Shake N Bake for a couple of hours. I can still remember the taste.

My Dad and I loved it. I think my Dad more than I as well. He still asks for all the Mallards I can send him. He was here in town a few weeks ago, and I fed him some Widgeon. He wasn't that impressed.

I've yet to really enjoy any of the ducks I shoot here on the Wet side. I get creative with marinades once in a while, but every time I get a grain-fed Mallard, I like it simply slow fried.

[RainierRiverRat]

As far as ducks go... sliced thin, floured up with pepper and garlic salt, and fried hot just like backstrap is my favorite way. Jerkify the scaup and call it a day.

1. Pintail
2. Mallard
3. Widgeon

[goodkarma]

Can you smoke them? Hope so, I just did but was in a hurry and vac packed them before really trying any. I'm thinking about making chili with it.

[Old Guys Rule]

[quote=WSU;2287239]I am obviously missing the boat because I don't like ducks or geese. They don't taste good and to make them edible you have to marinate them and mask the flavor. Somebody tell me what I'm doing wrong. quote]

Plain duck meat breasted out with no duck fat tastes like grocery store beef liver. That is the flavor you are trying to hide unless you like liver. (I said grocery store beef liver, not FRESH wild deer or elk liver)

It all boils down to the acid in your marinade breaking down the protein structure of the meat. It changes both the texture and flavor of the meat. Go to Buck Gardiner's web site and look up the "Duck Lady" she has a cookbook for sale with fantastic. Do it right and it is truly "flying roast beef"

[HuntNFishAddict]

What ever comes close enough for me to shoot. Not too many this year. Haven't had the real opportunities like the past several years. Work has been getting in the way. Oh Well, at least I have a job.

Recipe:
Similar to Duckboys:
Oyster sauce, Worchester Sauce, Brown Sugar
Cut meat into 1" squares and wrap with Bacon, use skewer to hold in place. Marinate overnight and BBQ the next evening. You can even cook it medium well if you like and it won't taste like liver.

Now, who wants to invite me over for dinner so I can have some.

[Gun Rod Bow]

My whole family loves Wood Ducks. Mallards from over East (corn fed) are awesome.

I'll pluck a goose from time to time and roast. Had one a couple weeks ago.

The boned out meat we accumilate from everything else used to go into peperoni. Now I have enough elk-a-roni that making it from goose doesn't make sense.

We have been making "Mexican Food" out of the boned meat. Cook for a day in a crock pot with chicken broth and taco seasonings. Cut into strips and fry in a big sauce pan and add back the broth until it all reduces. Tear into strips with 2 forks. Add in cilanthro, onions and a little more seasonings to taste. Makes AWESOME burritos, tacos etc. And even cold wraps for lunches.

[raptorschild]

Originally Posted by Adjhunt

If you don't like duck, its because you don't cook it right, or someone didn't cook it right for you.

My Uncle is always asking me for duck, and I have people all over my church that want it from me. But you have to wrestle me for it!

I LOVE duck.

Fav has gotta be teal, but because they have such little meat on them I would go with wigeon next. Then next would be Mallards, and pintail.
Also like Smilies, redheads, bluebills, ringneck, and I haven't tried Wood ducks because I have never got the chance to shoot one, but I bet you I would like it

But I do draw the line at "Lawn Darts" (mergansers) euh

My sister didn't like duck awhile ago. And now with how I cook it she loves it too! and shes always eats any leftovers....

You guys that don't like it are missing out!

I've heard numerous people say that duck prepared well is good. That is interesting........Out of all the Quail and Chukar, pheasant, and hun i've cooked over the years.....I must be perfect at cooking those and coincidentally bad at cooking duck because no matter what I do Quail is amazing, as well as chukar, and yet no matter what I do.....duck is always bad.

Every recipe i've ever seen for duck that supposedly tastes good revolves around some kind of special "SAUCE". I have a feeling at that point, the duck is the substance, and the "sauce" is the thing you are tasting....not the duck.


I can cook quail without anything but a touch of oil., and it tastes amazing. duck?....not so much

[baltz526]

Baked coots

[Uplanders]

The beast duck Ive eaten are the grain fed woodies from across the road, there is a grain silo that they feed at. Ive butcherd them and had there crops overflowing with grain. They were pretty good but ill still take grouse, quail and pheasant over duck any day.

[Adjhunt]

Originally Posted by raptorschild

I've heard numerous people say that duck prepared well is good. That is interesting........Out of all the Quail and Chukar, pheasant, and hun i've cooked over the years.....I must be perfect at cooking those and coincidentally bad at cooking duck because no matter what I do Quail is amazing, as well as chukar, and yet no matter what I do.....duck is always bad.

I'll agree with you that quail and chukar are amazing. Don't really compare with ducks. I guess I have just grown to like the taste of duck since I have been eating it since I was 3 years old.

[waterfowlin101]

Originally Posted by Adjhunt

If you don't like duck, its because you don't cook it right, or someone didn't cook it right for you.

I LOVE duck.

This young man speaks the truth. I have developed so many recipes for duck over the years...

maybe it's time for another DA meeting at my house...


Oh yeah...canvasback are by far the best table fare.

Jon

[Bait Bucket]

Look at Atomic Buffalo Turds recipe on this very forum. Substitute duck meat for the sausage.

[jonasson365]

I also agree.... it is how you prepare the bird that makes it tasty. In my experience it also depends on the feed. Don't get me wrong I've had ducks that taste terrible but I've also had divers from Klamath Falls that tasted like mallards. As for geese...smoked is always great but last year we finally found the best way to cook them. PLUCKED and DEEP FRIED whole with garlic cloves stuffed under the skin. Tastes like roast beef with a turkey texture. Ribeye in the sky!

[WSU]

Originally Posted by raptorschild

I've heard numerous people say that duck prepared well is good. That is interesting........Out of all the Quail and Chukar, pheasant, and hun i've cooked over the years.....I must be perfect at cooking those and coincidentally bad at cooking duck because no matter what I do Quail is amazing, as well as chukar, and yet no matter what I do.....duck is always bad.

Every recipe i've ever seen for duck that supposedly tastes good revolves around some kind of special "SAUCE". I have a feeling at that point, the duck is the substance, and the "sauce" is the thing you are tasting....not the duck.


I can cook quail without anything but a touch of oil., and it tastes amazing. duck?....not so much

That's exactly what I'm saying. I love hunting upland birds, and every way you cook them is great. Ducks are also fun to hunt, but every way I've cooked them sucks. I honestly want to know if the secret is to either enjoy the natural taste of duck, which most don't like, or to make the duck not taste like duck?

[HuntNFishAddict]

[quote=waterfowlin101;2287768]This young man speaks the truth. I have developed so many recipes for duck over the years...

maybe it's time for another DA meeting at my house...

[DTSportsman]

Any are good soaked in your favorite marinade for a couple days, especially Mallard in Teriyaki, I seem to shoot all of mine already stuffed with rice it doesn't get much better than that. Cook over the grill.

[HuntNFishAddict]

Originally Posted by DTSportsman

Any are good soaked in your favorite marinade for a couple days, especially Mallard in Teriyaki, I seem to shoot all of mine already stuffed with rice it doesn't get much better than that. Cook over the grill.

Daryn, that's not rice, it's bird seed.
On the other hand it could be a parasite of some sort.

[MarshBum]

Originally Posted by waterfowlin101

Oh yeah...canvasback are by far the best table fare.

I can't believe I had to scroll down so far on this thread to find the first mention of Canvasback. Jon nailed it... Cans are tops for ducks. They beat a grain fed mallard any day of the week.

Geoff

[Tar Heel]

Spoonie a la rice breast, served rare. Eat what you kill? Not always.

[arkansasbasser]

Originally Posted by WSU

That's exactly what I'm saying. I love hunting upland birds, and every way you cook them is great. Ducks are also fun to hunt, but every way I've cooked them sucks. I honestly want to know if the secret is to either enjoy the natural taste of duck, which most don't like, or to make the duck not taste like duck?

Try this. Slice duck breasts into finger width. Marinate in Carribian Jerk, or Jamacian Jerk if you like a bolder lfavor. Maridade for a couple of hours or overnight if you want. You can find these marinades at Safeway and other major grocery stores. Take the meat directly out of the marinade and drag through flour and fry with medium heat. Maybe a minute. Just enough to brown the flour coating. You can dip the finished product in a small bowl of the maridane if you like it more flavorful. MMMMMmmmm.

[Bluefinn]

try slicing the breast and then pounding the slices until you can almost see through them scrape them off the cutting board ,bread them in Italian bread crumbs and the fry in a hot skillet.Very tasty the pounding some how gets rid of the strong flavor.

[fish forever]

Favorites:
Teal - I love a medium rare fried or BBQ teal breast. Takes a lot for a meal, but even a couple are good appetizer. Dont have to do anything to make them taste good. I cant remember a bad one

Least favorites
'Swamp' Mallards - every once in a while there is a mallard that just aint right. Could be what they eat or where they are from, but some of my worst ducks have been mallards.

Most Maligned
Spoonies - They arent my favorite, but I dont find they are as bad as everyone says they are. Maybe the ones I get have better diets. Put into milk overnight or brined - they taste as good as a mallard IMO.

[Don Fischer]

Haven't hunted ducks in a long time. Only ones I liked eating were teal. I can't believe anyone would ruin a good marinade by dropping a duck in it!

[StickFish]

When I used to Hunt, Teal & Mallard. Roasted in the oven, wedge of apple, wedge of onion inside, strips of bacon across the back. Served with Wild Rice, Asparagus and a cold glass of milk.

One of these days I'll have to get back into this - to give you an idea how long its been - lead was still legal.

[Threemuch]

I have eaten most of them, and I like them all. Most people like the ducks with milder flavor like mallards, teal, pintails, gadwall. Wigeon, Divers, spoonies are stronger.

And I say avoid the fishduck. Sawbills don't smell right and definitely don't taste right.

[Monkey]

Originally Posted by fish forever

Least favorites
'Swamp' Mallards - every once in a while there is a mallard that just aint right. Could be what they eat or where they are from, but some of my worst ducks have been mallards.

Those are city ducks. The ones you see loafin’ in the turd whirlers at the sewage treatment plant.

As for cooking... I like em simple. Soak in water for 15-20 minutes to pull a little blood. Salt and Pepper em. Marinade in Olive Oil and finely chopped garlic for a bit. Maybe add a dry rub, and throw em' on the grill til they're purple in the middle. Slice like the BBQ pork from a Chinese restaurant and dip in a little bit of steak sauce.

Leftovers, cube small and add it to your breakfast omelet. Sweeeeeet.

Maybe duck just ain’t for everyone. PM me and I’ll take them off your hands. I’ll even do the cleaning. And you can feel good your birds won’t go to waste. Well… I guess… in a way, they will become waste. See paragraph one. It’s the circle of life man.

m

[Got Fish?]

A friend of mine told me to boil the breasts in chicken broth for a few hours. Add water to it as it boils off. I tried that today with some freshly shot wigeon and YES IT IS ******* GOOD!!!! Tastes just like roast beef!!! Just tried a few slices 5 min ago. I swear if there is gamey taste to anything I'll know it. (Im a wuss as far as that nasty stuff) But this is the BOMB (as the kids say)

Im going to take the breasts and make tacos with them tonight, I KNOW they are going to be excellent. Yahoo!

[saltchucker]

If your ducks taste like liver you are OVERCOOKING them. Med, med-well, and well done duck (unless braised) are very strong and livery by any measure - few people like it. If they are braised (cooked a long time partially in liquid till tender) they will take on the flavor of the sauce and in turn give a rich flavor to the sauce. Not bad really - the french sometimes cook wild duck this way. Smoked duck can be fantastic.

Ducks are best if cooked and eaten like good steaks - rare and bloody.

A good wild duck (see my personal ranking below) needs very little fancy cooking, marinating, soaking, leaching etc.... After plucking and cleaning dry with paper towels and keep em for a few days in the refrigerator.


how to cook wild duck and love it:

Do not invite picky eaters, whiners or people who are grossed out by med-rare or rare meat. Do invite people who show up with good red wine and hearty appetites.


Remove batteries from your smoke detector being careful to replace them when you are through cooking.
Open good red wine,
Preheat oven to 450 or 500
Wipe birds down with olive oil or soft butter, coarse salt and pepper, give them a squeeze of lemon or a few dashes of tobasco and place in roasting pan, do not crowd them, they should have an inch or two between each bird in the pan.
Put ducks in oven, remove mallards at about 15-17 minutes, teal at 6-10. When they come out of the oven they should be browned outside and very rare (almost raw) at the breast, cover loosely with foil and let rest for 10-15 or so minutes. As the bird sits (rests) it will finish cooking and should be rare to med-rare (cooked but red and juicy) when it hits the table, just like a good steak. If they are too rare for you return to a warm oven (275) for 5 or so minutes. Do not cook more than med-rare...especially if you think you do not like duck. A lot of peoples instinct here is to cook it hard because they think it is some weird wild meat and they are leary of it...if you feel this way fight through it...

Eat it.

Best ducks in order: vegetation fed canvasback, nut fed woodies, fat pintail and teal, grain fed mallard (mallards are cheaters: they have been known to puke up baby carp when they hit the ice in nevada, in AK late season mallards feed heavily on salmon eggs in places), widgeon, ringneck, gadwall, bufflehead, scaup-shoveler.

Ducks and dove (unlike quail, chukar, pheasant) are very flavorful very lean meat often wrapped in extremely fatty skin. Think lamb vs veal. They cook very differently but are all very good with simple appropriate cooking.

If you don't actually like to eat duck or have to disquise it's unique qualities to eat it couldn't you find some other things to shoot at? Or at least give them to me - I will buy you dinner at The Olive Garden for every limit you send my way (no sawbills or scaup)

Learn to cook and love it or shoot more clay targets and upland game!

Anthony Bourdin writes in his cookbook Les Halles - if you must cook wild duck well done "may god have mercy on your soul!"

Will

[WSU]

Originally Posted by Got Fish?

A friend of mine told me to boil the breasts in chicken broth for a few hours. Add water to it as it boils off. I tried that today with some freshly shot wigeon and YES IT IS ******* GOOD!!!! Tastes just like roast beef!!! Just tried a few slices 5 min ago. I swear if there is gamey taste to anything I'll know it. (Im a wuss as far as that nasty stuff) But this is the BOMB (as the kids say)

Im going to take the breasts and make tacos with them tonight, I KNOW they are going to be excellent. Yahoo!

I went out today and shot a few ducks to try cooking them. I love cooking game and had to prove myself wrong after hearing all the posts. First I boiled some in broth, and now my house stinks. I haven't braved the duck after the stinky boiling, so we shall see. However, I made some jalepeno poppers and it was amazing!!! I cubed the duck, put it in soy sauce for 3 hours, put sour cream on it, a jalepeno, and wrapped the whole thing in bacon. Cook until the bacon is done and it is great!!! They are, in fact, highly edible!!

[Adjhunt]

I fried my ducks from yesterday and they were mmm mmm GOOD!
I sliced them in really thin strips and soaked them in Tuscan Italian dressing for about an hour then put in the pan for a quick fry.

[Tulelicious]

I posted this a while ago and is by far the best duck I have had. http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?t=183217

As far as best tasting, Has anyone done a side by side? I have from the past couple days a Mallard, Wigeon, and Sprig and after reading this thread I'm gonna do a sided by side for the breast meat to see which I like the best.

[nunyet]

Originally Posted by ,

If your ducks taste like liver you are OVERCOOKING them. Med, med-well, and well done duck (unless braised) are very strong and livery by any measure — few people like it. If they are braised (cooked a long time partially in liquid till tender) they will take on the flavor of the sauce and in turn give a rich flavor to the sauce. Not bad really — the french sometimes cook wild duck this way. Smoked duck can be fantastic.

Ducks are best if cooked and eaten like good steaks — rare and bloody.

A good wild duck (see my personal ranking below) needs very little fancy cooking, marinating, soaking, leaching etc.... After plucking and cleaning dry with paper towels and keep em for a few days in the refrigerator.


How to cook wild duck and love it:

Do not invite picky eaters, whiners or people who are grossed out by med-rare or rare meat. Do invite people who show up with good red wine and hearty appetites.


Remove batteries from your smoke detector being careful to replace them when you are through cooking.
Open good red wine,
Preheat oven to 450 or 500
Wipe birds down with olive oil or soft butter, coarse salt and pepper, give them a squeeze of lemon or a few dashes of tobasco and place in roasting pan, do not crowd them, they should have an inch or two between each bird in the pan.
Put ducks in oven, remove mallards at about 15-17 minutes, teal at 6-10. When they come out of the oven they should be browned outside and very rare (almost raw) at the breast, cover loosely with foil and let rest for 10-15 or so minutes. As the bird sits (rests) it will finish cooking and should be rare to med-rare (cooked but red and juicy) when it hits the table, just like a good steak. If they are too rare for you return to a warm oven (275) for 5 or so minutes. Do not cook more than med-rare...especially if you think you do not like duck. A lot of peoples instinct here is to cook it hard because they think it is some weird wild meat and they are leary of it...if you feel this way fight through it...

Eat it.

Best ducks in order: vegetation fed canvasback, nut fed woodies, fat pintail and teal, grain fed mallard (mallards are cheaters: they have been known to puke up baby carp when they hit the ice in Nevada, in AK late season mallards feed heavily on salmon eggs in places), widgeon, ringneck, gadwall, bufflehead, scaup-shoveler.

Ducks and dove (unlike quail, chukar, pheasant) are very flavorful very lean meat often wrapped in extremely fatty skin. Think lamb vs veal. They cook very differently but are all very good with simple appropriate cooking.

If you don't actually like to Eat duck or have to disquise it's unique qualities to eat it couldn't you find some other things to shoot at? Or at least give them to me - I will buy you dinner at The Olive Garden for every limit you send my way (no sawbills or scaup)

Learn to cook and love it or shoot more clay targets and upland game!

Anthony Bourdin writes in his cookbook Les Halles - if you must cook wild duck well done "may god have mercy on your soul!"

Will

About the same as my favorite , 20 min at 500, crisp on the outside rare in the middle. Best to use east of the mountain ducks feeding on grain and corn. I don't think there is much you can do to make one of the mallards that sit at the landings on the Mackenzie and eat the fish guts to get them to taste good.

Most of the geese I breast and cut in strips about a 1/2-inch thick and then marinate in yashitas and smoke. The thighs I save and make sausage.

nunyet

[I bleed fish]

I just ate my first coot. I skinned it, pulled off all the fat I could, boiled it in chicken boullion for awhile, then shredded the meat. Taco seasoning, a little salsa, sour cream and cheese in a tortilla and it was just like a carne asada soft taco!

[arkansasbasser]

Originally Posted by I bleed fish

I just ate my first coot. I skinned it, pulled off all the fat I could, boiled it in chicken boullion for awhile, then shredded the meat. Taco seasoning, a little salsa, sour cream and cheese in a tortilla and it was just like a carne asada soft taco!

If I ever shoot a coot I'm going to give this one a go. Should make my old boots taste good.

[Got Fish?]

Boiling the breasts at my house didn't produce much of a smell but I have a pretty extensive hood for ventilation that helps alot. Try the ducks right after they are done, just take them and slice them up. I'll be making some more on the Monday afternoon!

[fishboys]

You could take a dog "log" out of the back yard and soak it in teriyaki wrap bacon around it put it in the treager and it would taste better then most duck recipes.