Mixed bag of ducks

[jrabq]

Haven't shot a pintail all year so went to the "pintail" spot which is a much further drive. Got the pintail and a mallard early, then was hoping to fill out limit on greenheads. But mallards were sparse, got one more, waited a couple more hours, then filled out limit on whatever came by.



While fetching a duck I rescued this little garter snake(?) about 100 yards out in the lake, wind was carrying him further offshore. He was about frozen, let him go in some warm rocks on the shoreline.

 

[mtmiller]

Dream limit

 

[Hunting Wife]

Nice looking bag of ducks.

 

[Nick87]

Perfect way to limit out if you ask me. I wish I had a "pintail spot " around here.

 

[WyoDoug]

Nice. I need to find someone that cooks them well and get a recipe. I never have cared for duck so far but love to hunt them.

 

[Deleted member 38069]

Great job on the birds and snake! Nice Drake green wing!

 

[Pucky Freak]

Nice! I'd like to see a pintail someday

 

[Duck-Slayer]

Heck yea! Congrats on a great limit of ducks!
Matt

 

[Crumb]

I’d take that mixed bag every time!

 

[Sask hunter]

Thats awesome!

 

[fishing4sanity]

Congrats on a good looking limit of ducks!

 

[Nick87]

Nice. I need to find someone that cooks them well and get a recipe. I never have cared for duck so far but love to hunt them.

https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/oh-it-is-not-so-bad.295067/page-3#post-2929002.
Post #54

Or cube duck breast the size of your thumb sprinkle with garlic salt. Take half a jalapeno cut length ways. Put a spoonful of cream cheese in the jalapeno. Place the piece of duck meat over cream cheese and wrap with bacon, then grill them. You can sprinkle cheddar cheese in there also if you like. Remove the seeds from pepper beforehand if you dont like hot!

 

[Deleted member 38069]

Nice! I'd like to see a pintail someday

Hunt central Minnesota, we at least get a drake and hen a year. This year I'm adding pintails to my spread

 

[jrabq]

Nice. I need to find someone that cooks them well and get a recipe. I never have cared for duck so far but love to hunt them.

That is a common complaint, unfortunately. A lot is determined by what type of ducks you are shooting.

A properly cooked "prime" duck can be one the best meals ever, IMO. But improper cooking, or a "trash" duck, can be your worst meal ever. Most should at least come out decent. I like duck, and roast about half my ducks whole with the skin on. But it has to be from the "prime" list, and not shot up. Everything else ends up as cubed or sliced up breast, or occasionally breast filets.

My "prime" list is; pintails, mallards, green-winged teal, wood ducks. There might be a few others that make the cut (e.g. redhead, canvasback) but I rarely get a chance shoot them. Widgeons might also deserve to be on the list. Other folks may have a different list. And occasionally I'll cook a whole mallard only to find it a bit fishy.

Most other ducks (and anything shot up) get breasted out (and I usually save the legs). And there are some ducks that are just not worth shooting.

So getting someone else "that cooks them well" would be great, otherwise look at Hank Shaw's website;

Duck Recipes - Recipes for Wild Ducks and Geese | Hank Shaw

Hank Shaw's collection of nearly 100 duck recipes, all tested and reviewed. You'll find duck recipes for both domestic ducks and wild ducks, plus geese.

honest-food.net

He also has a great book; "Duck Duck Goose", but a lot of the recipes are pretty complicated.

My "go-to" recipe for non-prime ducks which most people like (my daughter asks for it all the time);

Slice skinless breast against the grain ~1/4" thick, cut off any blood shot areas. For thicker or larger pieces I might score it a little with a knife. Season with a Cajun seasoning, garlic powder, basil, and marinate in a bit of soy sauce or teriyaki for a few hours or overnight. For non-prime ducks longer marinade times probably help. Coat with a beaten egg (optional) and dredge in flour (usually also seasoned with pepper or Cajun seasoning). Pan fry both sides until brown, it should come out like steak fingers or slices of chicken-fried steak. Oddly enough it seems to taste better when it's cooled down to room temp; serve with bbq sauce, or ranch dressing, or blue cheese dressing, or hot wing sauce for dipping. I also use the legs in this recipe, just remove all skin. I've also seen similar recipes where instead of slicing up the breast they just pound it flat, again trying for the "chicken-fried steak" look.

There are a lot of recipes on the internet that use duck parts, some similar to mine above. I guess I'd recommend not trying these recipes with a "trash" duck, first try it with a good or at least decent quality duck.

Another "go-to" recipe is to bacon wrap a seasoned and marinated duck breast; cook it medium rare (absolutely not over medium) over a hot grill. You want the bacon crispy but the duck medium rare, like a steak.

Here is a recipe I think Newberg posted years ago, I confess I haven't tried it, but have done something similar.

 

[mdeerjunkie]

Congrats on the great duck hunt. I’d take a limit like that any day!

 

[Nutrioso]

That is a cool limit and will be great on the table. Congratulations.

 

[Sask hunter]

Nice. I need to find someone that cooks them well and get a recipe. I never have cared for duck so far but love to hunt them.

Can never go wrong with jerky

 

[danwolf]

Nice mix! Was on some pintails today but they wouldn’t commit to my spread.

 

[brownbear932008]

Wish we could get a mixture like that in my back yard.

 

[Deleted member 38069]

Nice. I need to find someone that cooks them well and get a recipe. I never have cared for duck so far but love to hunt them.

The simpler, the better. Duck should be rare to medium rare!