Help - Need Duck and Pheasant Recipes

[Dr Strangelove]

I need recipes for the above. I love hunting these birds, but my culinary talents have really lacked here. I''d appreciate any help you might have, particularly with duck. Mostly I get to harvest gadwall, pintail, mallard, and teal. Thanks for the help and advice.

[reeldick]

A simple duck recipe we've used for years gives duck a good flavor and gets rid of some of the wild taste.
Clean and rinse duck inside and out.
Put in body cavity:
1/4 of a medium onion
1/4 of an apple
1 T butter
Season bird to taste and wrap in aluminum foil.
Bake in 350 degree oven for approx. 30 minutes.

The bird bastes itself in the foil. Its great.

[Kentucky Hog Hunter]

Dr. Strangelove,

For Pheasant,

Try slow cooking in a crock pot with chicken broth. Add onions, potatoes, carrots, garlic.

Simmer till the meat of the bird can be pulled off the bone and do it.

Make some Rice.

Get some of that Tony Chachere's brown gravy mix and serve that bird & stew fixings over rice with that brown gravy on top and I think you will be pleased.

Here is the Tony Chachere's web site.

http://www.cajunspice.com/

If you like cajon cooking, I suggest the "Original Creole Seasoning" [img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img]

This stuff is good on everything [img]graemlins/lurk.gif[/img] . You can get this at Winco Foods.

Good Luck and let me know what you think. I got pheasants to cook myself. Check out my post from a couple days ago, it was a hoot.

Take care.

[No Wishin Just Fishin]

For pheasant

bone out completely and marinate meat for an hour. pour off marinade and save. Saute the meat in butter medium heat until about 3/4 done. Thenadd to a package of stir fry veggies along with about 1/2 of the marinade and cook until done. Then spoon over uncle Bens wild rice. Even better with Chukar

[Lured In]

For any boned duck breast...

In medium skillet, add one tablespoon of olive oil, two teaspoons minced/crushed garlic, and one small diced onion. Sautee over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Season duck with pepper and add duck breasts. Cook 3-5 minutes per side (depending on size of breast and desired doneness. Personally medim rare is best). Remove duck from skillet (leave onions/garlic and don't drain off the oil)and cover with foil. Add 1/2 cup red wine (Rosemont cabernet/shiraz is a favorite) and 1 tablespoon of soysauce. Let sauce simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often. Return duck to skillet for 1 minute and serve with rice or mash potatoes.

All total this should take less than 20 minutes from start to finish.

Yum Yum!

Only 4 more weeks to go!

[Dr Strangelove]

Thanks to all; I can hardly wait.

[kamloops]

Baked Pheasant

In a gal size zip lock bag take 1 cup white flour
seasoned with lots of paprika, salt and pepper and anything else you would put in your special breading.
Quarter your pheasant skin-on, wash and pat dry.
Some people will soak birds in milk for an hour, either way works,
In a Large fry pan over med high heat, add 2+ tbls salted butter and or cooking oil, I prefer butter myself, it makes a better gravy, than add pheasant pieces, brown to color preferance.

In a 325 degree oven for 30 minutes or untill brown;
In a large "greased" glass or metal oven ready baking dish add browned pheasant pieces.
Take a large Walla Walla onion and slice thin, add oinion slices to cover the birds. I also am very liberal with Vermouth to the birds in the pan.
IMPORTANT;
Save the frying leftovers or liquid left in the pan to make a gravy. I usually make a rue with butter and flour to thicken with a chicken stock base, add the pan leftovers. I usually add tabasco, worchester and lots of pepper and salt to taste. You know, the way your parents taught you make gravy.
After the gravy is prepared I usually will cover the bird pieces in the baking dish with gravy for the balance of cooking time, usually 10 minutes is enough.
Serve with Mashed Potatoes.

[id. painter]

I hunted and ate hundreds of Ducks before I discovered this little secret. Thak your duck breasts dredge in flour , brown in fry pan , season as you want. Then cook them in a pressure cooker for 30 minutes. Tender , fast and great.
This is the only way I will cook a duck now. id. painter

[Lured In]

A couple other ideas...

Duck Fajitas. (use duck instead of chicken or steak.)

Duck Stir Fry over white rice. (try adding a little orange marmalade to the sauce mix).

Butterfly the breasts, season/stuff with favorite goodies, roll them up, wrap them with bacon and tie with butchers string. Bake them on the grill (indirect heat) for 15-20 minutes.

Save your duck legs and thighs over the season. When you have enough (2-4 ducks legs/thighs per person), prepare them in a crock pot like stew, only add a half bottle of Burgundy to the pot along with carrots, pearl onions, and chunked red potatoes.

[sparse gray hackle]

Hey Doc !! I just brest out the duck. Pound them like you would a round steak and fry it like a chicken fried steak... um um um..

[Predator Dawg]

Make duck taste like crab;

2 whole ducks
freeze completely solid
hack them up with an axe
put them in your crab pots
boil and eat the dungees you catch

Fun for the entire family.

[James in Idaho]

Ducks:

Filet the breast meat and cut into 1" cubes. Soak overnight in the cheapest creamy Italian dressing you can find. Take a pepperocini (beats me how to spell it) and a half strip of bacon and wrap the duck cube. Secure with a toothpick. Grill until the bacon is just done. My mother will eat duck this way, but do not overcook! The duck needs to be a little rare.

Pheasant:

Can't beat "white trash" pheasant. De-bone the meat from breast and thighs, dredge in flour, and brown with onion and garlic to taste. Take a can of Cambell's Roasted Garlic Cream of Mushroom, mix with a can of water (or 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup white wine), pour over pheasant and stuff, reduce to a simmer, cover. Ready after 20 to 25 mins. Over a wild rice mix or mashed spuds this is to die for.

You can also cube the pheasant, brown it with garlic, and then add it to a packaged fettichini mix. There won't be any left overs. Both are quick and easy, and they work well with any upland game bird. Of course, you can use ministrone and red wine over noodles too. ymmmmm.

[Salty Walty]

If I get some good ducks (feeding on grain). I dry pluck and dress them, dry out the cavity and hang them by their necks for 3-5 days. This lets the blood drain out and makes them tender. Only do this if you can keepp them cool and dry. Humidity will make them start to mold.

Rinse birds and dry then I season the birds with season salt,pepper, and granulated garlic and onion inside and out.
Put in oven at 425 for 30-32 minutes. This is for big ducks mallards,sprig,gadwalls. The breast will be medium. For smaller ducks widgeon,woodies 28 min. Serve with oriental Plum Sauce for dipping.

If you aren't sure what the birds have been eating a Gumbo or crock pot method is better.They taste like what they have been eating. I tried eating a mallard I shot on the bay, it had clams in its crop. Tasted like blend of liver and tuna.

[Killertraylor]

I've eaten hundreds of ducks over the last 20 years and never had one I really "liked" until two years ago. I finally found a recipe that gets all the gamy flavor out and makes them taste good. I cut the breast into 1/4 inch wide strips and soak them in a bowl of milk. Pour the milk off each day for 3 days and on the 3rd day they are ready - the milk takes all the blood and gamy flavor out. Just bread them with flour and whatever seasoning you like (garlic salt, Johnny's, etc.) and fry them in a pan in olive oil until they are done. You can dip them in your favorite sauce or just eat them. I won't cook a duck any other way. They taste a lot like fried venison this way.

[C-lice]

Cut the duck into dice-sized cubes, brown it in butter, put the browned duck meat cubes into sweet & sour sauce, heat it up, serve over rice. Fast, easy, good.

[Capin' Dan]

Duck appetizers,
best with mallard, pintail or baldpates (Weigeon)
Take the breast strips, strip of bacon, and apricot jam. roll up bacon one strip and a dab of jam secure with a tooth pick soaked in water for 20 minutes and grill over charcoal, Remember to not over cook rare is best. this will make your friend think you are some type of culinary genious. It is great for snacks.

For diver type ducks save all the meat you can and take it to Oregon meat company for pepperonni. All duck tasste good in pepperonni.

Dan

[Salmon Loser]

For ducks take some breasts fillets and cover in mustard and sesame seeds and fry in olive oil. Best duck you ever tasted even the wife will eat it.

SL