Ageing Geese and ducks.

TheCircle said:
Hello Fellow Gun nutz!

I went out this past weekend and blasted my first two birds! A Canada goose and a Mallard! I was just wondering how you all age your waterfowl?
What I am doing is leaving in my cold garage for 3 days guts in (they are not gut shot). I wanted to know what others do and there experience.

Also if you could point me in the direction of some delicious recipes!

Thank you
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Congratulations on the birds! I have not forgotten my first ones 20 years ago.

h ttp://www4.ncsu.edu/~csdepern/documents/WaterfowlWings.pdf

Follow that link (minus the space) and view the pdf. It will tell you how to ID, ### and age waterfowl using wing plumage. The beauty of modern technology. I paid almost $50USD twenty five years ago for this book for school. lol
 
Yotarunner said:
I don't age any of the birds I shoot. In fact most of them are still warm when cleaned. A
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Doesn't aging waterfowl or wild game create a more tender and tastier meal?

Sivy97 said:
Congratulations on the birds! I have not forgotten my first ones 20 years ago.

h ttp://www4.ncsu.edu/~csdepern/documents/WaterfowlWings.pdf

Follow that link (minus the space) and view the pdf. It will tell you how to ID, ### and age waterfowl using wing plumage. The beauty of modern technology. I paid almost $50USD twenty five years ago for this book for school. lol
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Not what I meant for aging but this is still really great information! Thank you!
 
I produce fowl on my hobby farm. Ducks, chickens and turkeys. For my personal birds, they get 2 days in the cooler (after dressing) before I put them in the freezer. I haven't shot wild ducks or geese in years but it was the same back then when I use to.
Cheers
 
I breast them out soon after getting home, let the meat cool to room temp then bag it and into the freezer till after the season
 
Best part of letting your birds cool overnight is any feather lice will usually leave before you start plucking. They die in a couple days without a host so don't worry about an infestation in your garage.
Maybe its a regional thing but a lot of ducks I've shot had lice and don't like them crawling on me. You start to imagine itches the rest of the day.
 
If the temp is OK I let them hang for up to a week. Same with my grouse. It definitely makes then nicer to clean (guts stiffen up) and tender and tastier. I know everyone has an opinion on this also with leaving bones/fat in/on venison so this is my opinion. YMMV.

Darryl
 
I usually brine waterfowl, - pluck and draw the guts while still warm, rinse, and put in an ice water bucket that has a few tablespoons of salt added. Keep refrigerated or in a cold outbuilding near freezing for 3 days and up to 5 or so. Makes the meat more tender, the same as hanging big game or beef does. The salt helps keep the meat from growing bacteria while in the water, and draws out excess blood. The time ageing relaxes the muscles and makes meat more tender. rinse before final preparation for cooking. I would not hang any birds with guts in, gut shot or not. I do hang upland birds for a few days, feathers on, at 4°C after drawing the intestines.
The toughest meat comes from stripping warm breasts off the bone and then freezing immediately. The meat will shorten in rigorous mortis when off the bone, and has no time to relax again. Not a problem if you use in ground meat, slow cooked stew, or fine sliced stir fry. i think the legs are a very important part of the duck, and especially of goose. Stewed they are wonderful. The best book i've found on cooking ducks and geese is called "Duck Duck Goose" and is available at McNalley Robinson.
 
TheCircle said:
Do you have a source for your reasoning?
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Yes, 39 years of waterfowling and eating them. You can smell the rotting guts in the meat within hours. Skin a few out after they have “aged” a bit rather than pluck and get back to me on what you think of the “oozy” liquid under the membrane between the skin and meat. Looks like a water blister. No thank you. We live in a day and age where we have refrigerators and methods to keep meat fresh. I’ll pass on the yesteryear no other option methods.
 
I repeat air temp is critical in aging. Most September shot birds cannot be aged due to the warm temps. I am not advocating hanging the birds regardless of the environmental conditions.

Darryl
 
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