Anyone here skin ducks rather than pluck them?

W

Why not?

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The grouse handling thread got me to thinking about this. I hunt waterfowl once in a blue moon, like five times in the past 40 years, so have virtually no idea if it will work or not?

Ted
 
Ted, all we have done for the past thirty years is slit the breast skin open, work it back over the breast meat with our thumbs and then cut the breast patties out. There are lot of things you can do with those patties, including jerky and pepperettes. A decade of plucking was enough for me... gave it up for lent.
 
I pluck my ducks and snow geese and Canadas too, but I don't get many of those.

Still have two liquor store boxes of plucked waterfowl from last season.

My wife roasts a bird, and we might eat the breast meat off a mallard one day, or a half beast and leg each, and the roasted carcass will go to soup stock.

To only take the breast meat is a waste in my opinion. Shoot, sometimes we'll eat three meals from one duck or snow goose.
 
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Why not? said:
The grouse handling thread got me to thinking about this. I hunt waterfowl once in a blue moon, like five times in the past 40 years, so have virtually no idea if it will work or not?

Ted
Click to expand...

as i was lucky to be with you at one of those and i remembered well as doing it as a young in the farm and also hunting: we pluck them ....
 
I pluck wild ducks in the blind, I find them too be too dry without the fat, that and they are tiny, not a lot of plucking.

My wife and I just did up some ducks we raised, 5 huge Pekins, about the size as a lesser Canada, they had the young feathers, just the wrong time of year, we plucked out the breasts and skinned out the legs and thighs, may be a good compromise for wild birds too. Our plan is to grind the leg meat, ground duck/venison sausage, meatloaf, burgers, it is all delicious.
 
Can't trust a man who only eats the breast meat lol

Missing the best parts like mentioned. I'll take a pot full of plump teal whole and will leave you with a bare bones carcass.

Also pintail or mallard late season and fatty. Prick the skin and fat a hundred times and roast. Good Lordy.

Some birds or geese I can see it's not tasty but most birds cooked whole or cut the backs out and they're Delicous.
 
I make a cut under the duck's "armpit" then work a couple fingers in the opening and peel the skin back, then breast out. Works pretty good once you get the feel for it.
 
The skin is the best part on the duck. I always slow braise it like Chinese braised duck. Super tender, very oily, so yummy. If you dip the bird in warm water for half an hour it makes plucking very easy.
 
I always skin them as I don't care for roasting a whole bird. I cut the breast off and then cut as much meat as possible off the legs and wings. On a nice size goose you get a fair amount of meat off the legs. My wife doesn't care for the leg meat as she says it taste stronger than the breast meat.
 
I skin the waterfowl. As Hoyt has eluded to, the skin can be gross. On small ducks like teal and woodies, I skin the whole duck. Larger ducks and geese I skin enough to take off the breasts and legs. Lots of great meat on the legs....especially on geese.
 
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