They Aren’t Greasy— You Just Haven’t Cooked ‘Em Right

If I had a dollar for every time I heard that phrase, I would be a wealthy man. Ducks and their ability to be show-stopping table fare are very much overlooked. Each fall, as the Grand Passage occurs, thousands of hunters are missing out on one of the best tasting game animals Missouri has to offer.

Handling and Preparation

One of the most important steps in having quality duck meat is the handling and preparation of the animal after harvest. If it is warm out, the number one step should be to gut and cool as quickly as possible. Luckily, much of the season the temperature is kind and will allow you to let them sit for a while.

However, if you have a gut shot bird, clean and cool as quickly as possible. Bacteria in the digestive tract can contaminate and alter the meat quickly. Clean the birds as quickly as possible in most cases. Separating the meat from the rest of the carcass is paramount.

If the temperature is below 40-degrees Fahrenheit, or the ducks are not gut shot, try dry aging the birds for four to seven days. Hang them outside, feathers and entrails intact, to really tenderize and enhance the flavor. If a warm spell hits, hang in the refrigerator. Wedge their beaks in the shelf grates and let hang for the same time period.

Plucking vs. Skinning

If you shoot a puddle duck (mallards, wood ducks, gadwall, wigeon, pintail, teal) there is little reason you should not pluck the feathers. The skin on these ducks, especially on birds who have been around gorging on grain, is incredibly fatty and tasty. By plucking it you save this skin and can render out the fat while cooking. However, a shot up puddle duck is best served to skinning. Any blood clots and coagulation that is trapped under the skin can affect the meat negatively, so remove the skin and wash or cut away these undesirable sections.

Diving ducks, such as redheads, mergansers, ring-necked, scaup, and bufflehead should almost always be skinned. Their diet consists of fish, invertebrates, and other lessthan-tasty morsels. The fishy, strong flavor is held in the skin and fat. You will notice most diver fat and skin is orange in color, and it is a sure indication it will not taste good.

The exception would be the canvasback. Canvasbacks, referred to as the King, are very good roasted whole. Be careful with puddle ducks, too! I have cooked gadwall before, and it smelled like I was searing a gizzard shad. Look for the orange fat and avoid it. Divers lend themselves well to grinding. Remove the skin, chunk up the breasts, and grind with pork or beef fat. Breakfast, summer, and hot Italian sausages are my favorite. Any sausage recipe will work here.

Cooking

The single most important error folks commit when preparing ducks is over cooking them. Because they are birds, there is a misconception they must be cooked well done. This is a tragic mistake. Ducks should be cooked medium-rare or rare. The only time you should not see any pink coloration after cooking is when you make jerky or sausage out of the birds. Please, stop overcooking your ducks!

Avoid marinades 99% of the time when cooking puddle ducks. They mask the flavor and really do not do anything for the bird. The exception would be when preparing ducks with Greek or Asian dishes. And for heaven’s sake, stop making poppers out of your fat mallards.

Sure, poppers taste fine, but slathering cream cheese and wrapping wild game in bacon is doing one thing— allowing you to taste the cream cheese and bacon. Ducks are complex in flavor and masking it with the ingredients of a popper does a disservice to the animal.

Another thing most do is throw away the legs. Stop doing this. Duck legs are great for gumbo, sauce picante, or any other slow cooking methods. I often make a Mississippi pot roast and confit and with duck legs. Both are exceptional dishes.

Easy Recipe Ideas

Hands down the best way to prepare a fat mallard or pintail is to pan sear the breasts in a cast iron skillet. This method, which I learned from Hank Shaw of Hunter Angler Gardner Cook, is the simplest and tastiest way to prepare skin-on puddle ducks.

Pan Seared Mallard

Step 1: Dry the breasts thoroughly and burn off any pin feathers. A small torch or lighter works great.

Step 2: Score the skin in a hatch pattern. This allows the fat to render out easily.