Need advice with dead Goose and Ducks

USP

USP

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No I didnt run them over with my truck...:p

After I shoot them, how long can I leave them as is before cutting out the meat? I am alittle unsure of preparation of waterfowl here. Is there a benefit to letting them hang for awhile? If so at what temperature? Or is it better to breast them out, rinse the meat then pack in ziplock bags?

While transporting the birds prior to chopping them up, is there any temperature they must be stored at? I have a SUV and due to a huge stereo in the back I can only fit them on the back seat. Which means I would want to put them in something like a box or a bag so I dont get blood all over the leather.

Is there a hazard to the meat if I put them in a plastic bag due to it heating up? I am alittle unsure of the best way of doing this. Any tips here?

I have cooked them before so thats not a problem but the stuff in between has me with a few more questions.

Lastly is it better to soak Goose meat in buttermilk for say a day or so or do you guys use a apple cider vinegar brine instead for a few hours/ weight dependent?

Thanks for any info. I have been studying youtube videos on the butchery so I should be ok on that w:h:.
 
I've left birds 2, 3 or more days IF they are in the fridge OR outside in the cold. And, I almost always breast the birds & cook, I hate gutting ducks...

Cheers
Jay
 
I'll have a run at a few of your questions:
I find it easier to pull the skin bach when breasting them when the bodies are warm so I do it when I get home. Also I don't want any stray pellets thet have gone through the gut ruining the meat. Then if possible I leave the breasts in the fridge for a few days in baggies before going into the freezer, that is unless some BBQ duck is calling my name.

When your transporting them through them into a grabage bag or what ever you want. I use a Rubbermaid container. *disclaimer* I dont know how far you are driving but my longest distance was about an hour.
 
For transport a cardboard box or two that you can spread them out in and some newspaper at the bottom of it to soak up blood would be best. Ducks and geese don't spoil particularly quickly so even two or three hours at car temps won't hurt. Keep them breast up at all times though so blood drains away from the meat.

When the weather is cool (within 5 degrees of freezing for most of the day) I will simply hang my birds in a sheltered spot for up to two weeks, feathers on and innards intact. That said, if the bird has been heavily shot up or ass shot it should be cleaned and packaged ASAP after shooting. If you don't have a place to hang birds, keeping them breast up in the fridge will accomplish the same.

The meat will get more tender and taste better if you allow your birds to hang a while before butchering.

Two mallards hens. The left one shot that morning and the right one having hung for 10 days. Notice shriveling of the eye and darker bill of aged bird.
agedvsfresh2.jpg


Upon plucking the only difference is a little drying around the shotholes and tooth marks of the aged bird (still on right).
agedvsfresh4.jpg


On the plate: Aged bird still on the right. No visual difference except that on slicing the fresh bird leaked more juices and blood onto the cutting board. In taste and texture however the aged bird ate more like tenderloin medallions than duck meat. It was less gamey and had better texture.
agedvsfresh6.jpg


So you can keep them for several days if the conditions are right. Even if you decide not to hang, take at least one nice duck and try it out sometime.
 
Thanks for the pics. Yeah the problem I have is the temperature here in Southern ONtario is all over the place last week it was -10, today its warm and raining out. I am suppose to be going in a couple of days so was worried about transport if its mild out.

With the regulations with 1 wing attached. Does this mean I cant breast them out in the field and must transport them "as is"? Or can you just breast them and bring the wing along with you?

Those dinner pics look great.
 
jameskw said:
seems weird, why would you leave meat out? how would it taste better?
(im only use to big game [moose and bison])
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When the meat ages, the collagen(stuff that holds cells together) in the meat degrades, making the meat more tender, and giving it a different taste.

In French it's called 'faisander' from 'pheasant', so I guess at some point in history it was really common practice to leave game birds to hang for a couple of days before eating them.
 
I've always hung my wild meat and beef for 2-3 weeks before cutting up. You may find it hard to find a butcher with adequate cooler space to allow this. We decided to convert one of the old shops on the farm into a walk in cooler. Meat always tastes better when it hangs.

That being said, I've never hung a bird. My grandmother talked about "green chicken" as a kid. Apparently they would leave poultry until it was nearly green before eating it.

I'd imagine that if you gut the ducks, even rough, keep them cool and dry, they should be good for a day or two without causing any sort of health issues. A cooler with some ice packs in it should be fine. Keep in mind that I've never done it myself. I always take them home and clean them same day.

While the wing attached rule seems frustrating, because I'd rather breast the ducks in the field than wait til I am home. I do pluck most of the feathers in the field to make the clean up easier at home.
 
USP said:
Thanks for the pics. Yeah the problem I have is the temperature here in Southern ONtario is all over the place last week it was -10, today its warm and raining out. I am suppose to be going in a couple of days so was worried about transport if its mild out.

With the regulations with 1 wing attached. Does this mean I cant breast them out in the field and must transport them "as is"? Or can you just breast them and bring the wing along with you?

Those dinner pics look great.
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You must leave the wing attached to the bird during transport. Breast them this way and you will be legal:

http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/birdcleaning.php

More info on hanging game with guts in.

www.vizsladogs.com/ARTICLES/HangEmHigh.doc

http://honest-food.net/2008/11/27/on-hanging-pheasants/

Try it at least once before rejecting the idea.
 
One wing is necessary for ID. At least here, in B.C. For upland birds as well.

Check out the "Bird Hitch " for an easy way of breasting birds. There are videos on the net showing how they can breast a goose in about 10 to 15 seconds and leave the wings attached or not. I have never breasted a goose as we have always plucked them, but this thing works really slick.
 
Sardaukar said:
When the meat ages, the collagen(stuff that holds cells together) in the meat degrades, making the meat more tender, and giving it a different taste.

In French it's called 'faisander' from 'pheasant', so I guess at some point in history it was really common practice to leave game birds to hang for a couple of days before eating them.
Click to expand...

interesting, we always just butcher and freeze right away. I am kind of a germaphobe though ;)
 
sjemac said:
You must leave the wing attached to the bird during transport. Breast them this way and you will be legal:

http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/birdcleaning.php

More info on hanging game with guts in.

www.vizsladogs.com/ARTICLES/HangEmHigh.doc

http://honest-food.net/2008/11/27/on-hanging-pheasants/

Try it at least once before rejecting the idea.
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting that. Great articles. I am not sure I have the place to hangin them where its temperature controlled though.
 
As well I was wondering on the transport. If I transport the birds as is to say my work, hang them there for a few days, then breast them at my work. Is it now illegal if I transport them a second time with no wing attached? Does the wing regulation refer only to the initial transport after the actual hunt? Or any time birds are transported? I have read the leaflet again and it doesnt seem to say about this?
 
First, big thanks to sjemac for the pics and writeup- that is how a question is answered!! :D

I had always assumed that once your game was cleaned and wrapped you could transport all you wanted. Otherwise you would have wings on in your freezer..... Logic need not apply in laws though. I'd phone the CO to get the real answer.

When its cool but not freezing in the fall and winter I hang my ducks and geese for a week guts in. They end up tasting great. The daily temps go up and down, but I figure as long as its between 0-8C the geese are fine.
 
USP said:
As well I was wondering on the transport. If I transport the birds as is to say my work, hang them there for a few days, then breast them at my work. Is it now illegal if I transport them a second time with no wing attached? Does the wing regulation refer only to the initial transport after the actual hunt? Or any time birds are transported? I have read the leaflet again and it doesnt seem to say about this?
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You can only remove the wing at your primary place of residence.
 
Cinch said:
You can only remove the wing at your primary place of residence.
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So once you have removed the wing at say your house does this mean you can no longer eat the meat anywhere other than your house?
 
USP said:
So once you have removed the wing at say your house does this mean you can no longer eat the meat anywhere other than your house?
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Here, the law gets mushy. The LETTER of the law would say "no transport after wing removal". Yet I have never heard of someone being charged for taking a bunch of duck breasts to a BBQ (probably because absent, the camo, gun and dogs they wouldn't think to ask). I take birds out of the freezer and to work to feed to students, to people's houses to cook and I have taken a load of goose breasts to the meat processor to be made into hotdogs.

Once the meat has been processed for consumption it is ok to transport. Now does "processed" mean cooked? Someplaces it does. Others it doesn't.

The INTENT of the law is to keep guys from driving around with multiple limits of ducks with no way of IDing them. I've only ever seen it applied to guys going to and from hunting or crossing borders.

I've never worried about it because if they wanted to figure out whether I was transporting wild bird breasts to my buddy's New Year's Eve party they'd need to do DNA testing on them. If they're willing to go that far, they want me for a hell of a lot more than illegal transport and the birds are the least of my worries.
 
It's good to hang now, even it Southern Ont. When it stays within a few degree of freezing. I love the colder weather because that means I can hang them up in the garage and clean birds as I want to eat them ( I usually finish them in 2-3 days). I like to hang them feet up so blood will continue to drip out of the bird.

And technically yes, you aren't supposed to transport them after the wing is removed. How you're supposed to take your pepperettes outside to eat is beyond me.
 
sherlockbonez said:
It's good to hang now, even it Southern Ont. When it stays within a few degree of freezing. I love the colder weather because that means I can hang them up in the garage and clean birds as I want to eat them ( I usually finish them in 2-3 days). I like to hang them feet up so blood will continue to drip out of the bird.

And technically yes, you aren't supposed to transport them after the wing is removed. How you're supposed to take your pepperettes outside to eat is beyond me.
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Kinda like the possession laws. Once the bird is disjointed and put into separate bags (I collect and cook the legs - like chicken wings -- separately from the breasts) how do they tell how many birds you have? I use a lot of the carcasses for soup stock that I then freeze, so can they get me for being 100 birds over my limit on duck essence?
 
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