Ducks an Geese

tdcour

Veteran member
Feb 28, 2013
1,100
26
Central Kansas
Results of goose prosciutto are in..... It's pretty terrible.

The texture is mostly similar to regular prosciutto, and the exterior has a nice salty flavor to it, but the rest pretty much tastes like... A goose.

The dog seemed to like it.

View attachment 12068
HA! That cracked me up. I'm not much for waterfowl and my wife... well there's no chance there. I'm sure my dog would like it too, but I definitely wouldn't go through that much work to cook it up!
 

quicknick

Active Member
Oct 7, 2011
301
1
Atascadero, CA
Breast them and cut the breasts into smaller pieces. Pond them out fairly flat, spread cream cheese on it with some cut up jalapeno. Wrap em up in bacon and smoke or grill. Best duck i ever had.
 

MSUcat61

Active Member
Apr 7, 2011
247
0
ABQ, NM
The problem with most duck is that people tend to overcook them and dry them out. I have a homemade teriyaki recipe that I like to use as the marinade (soy sauce, sesame seed oil, garlic, ginger, and cinnamon) that is really great. Grill them on the BBQ like steak and be sure to grill it only to medium rare. Moist, tender deliciousness ensues. A mango chutney on top is a nice addition too.

If you're having troubles finding good ways to cook duck, I always like to look for Chinese/Asian recipes.

Wrapping bacon around strips of duck breast and onion slices and then broiling is a good appetizer too. I served a whole dinner party my swan this way and no one had a clue they were eating swan. Everyone liked it too.
 

25contender

Veteran member
Mar 20, 2013
1,638
90
I have been trying to find out how the BigFork Inn in BigFork Montana cooks their duck. Looks like they bone it out leaving the skin on salt and pepper and cook it to a crispy crust and then they top it off with a Huckleberry/Pecan sauce. It is by far the best duck I ever had. If anyone is ever up in that country stop in the BigFotk Inn for dinner and try it you wont be sorry. Its called "Crispy Farm House Duck"
 

Triple BB

Active Member
Jun 22, 2013
296
16
Wyoming
I don't know how you guys can eat ducks that have been cooked more than medium rare. Rare to medium rare is the only way you can avoid that flying liver taste...
 

duckbum

New Member
May 29, 2015
35
0
sausage is a great way. i like to marinate sprig breast that has white fat and skin still on it with local legends from the put it on the bbq.
 

brianboh

Active Member
Jun 4, 2015
396
1
Powell, Wyoming
The orange juice with goose is disgusting. Almost the worse thing I have ever eaten: I got buddies who will not try it after that stunt. Also all I eat is animals I kill. The juice is just plain gross
 

Stay Sharp

Very Active Member
Oct 6, 2015
808
146
WI
Im not a waterfowl hunter but I have friends and neighbors that do it big time. They always want to give me ducks and gees but until I stumbled upon a way to make duck/goose bacon, I didnt accept their offers. Now I cant get enough. Its the same way I make my big game bacon and its one hell of a great way to use us scrap/trim. I will create a separate thread on how its done.
 

DU4LIFE25

Member
Sep 24, 2015
70
31
Wisconsin
I take duck breasts and slice them thinly and marinade them in Caribbean Jerk overnight. We'll fry them up with onions and peppers for fajitas.

As far as geese, I'll grind them up, mix with some hamburger. Add fresh garlic, Italian seasoning, an egg and some Italian bread crumbs for meatballs. We'll have them with spaghetti or with a gravy over rice/noodles. The kids absolutely love the meatballs.
 

Plainsman

Member
Apr 17, 2013
53
1
SW WY
In college all I hunted was waterfowl mostly, just couldn't embrace the wonder that is an East River SD deer hunt! I try hard to cook waterfowl in ways that are not only tolerable, but (dare I say it) enjoyable too. My favorite for ducks, and this one really only works with birds taken later in the season, is similar to what 25Contender mentioned above. Mallards: pick the breast and filet the muscle skin-on up over the keel so that both pieces of meat are held in the center by skin. Marinate for at least 3 hours in 1 cup each apple cider (get the good stuff), chicken broth and brown sugar. Remove duck; marinade in large sauce pan and cook down to a glaze over medium heat. Grill duck breasts skin side down, basting with glaze as you turn it- DO NOT GO PAST MEDIUM!!! This recipe also uses a cajun mustard sauce on the side, the sweet/spicy combo is truly a remarkable pairing. I have a couple other go-to's, but this by far is my favorite. The trouble with waterfowl is as a general rule- it's very dark, and very rich meat. The best recipes I've found take time to put together…my snow goose gumbo is a 2 day process. Worth every minute, but who has hours to cook these days?

Cheers,
Plainsman
 

claylandry

New Member
Sep 29, 2016
4
0
Boise, ID
Duck and Goose meat is one of the most abused and misunderstood wildgame meats. Most people try to cook it like a big commercially fed hormone laden chicken breast and declare it tastes like liver and is dry...no kidding!!

Like most game meats, its all about preparation and method of cooking.

I highly recommend soaking duck and goose breasts in salt water for at least 8 hours if not 24 hours. This will help leach out a lot of the blood and reduce the liver taste. It also helps impart water in the breast.

I usually then freeze these in vacuum packed bags for later use.

One of my favorite ways to prepare the duck is to "confit" style cook this. Traditional confit is to slow cook the duck/goose in its own fat but that requires a lot of fat that isn't really feasible for wild ducks. A friend of mine has bought duck fat from Whole Foods (aka Whole PayCheck). I've come up with a cheaper and equally good alternative.

Recipe

4-6 duck breasts

8x8 pan that is 4 inches deep. You want a deep pan

Olive Oil - don't waste your money on extra virgin since you're cooking with it and not drinking it. I get it from Costco. You'll want enough to completely cover the duck breasts so plan on at least 1 quart.

Salt

Pepper

Garlic - lots of Garlic!! Fresh crushed and chopped...please don't use the prechopped jarred stuff.

Fresh Rosemary Sprigs

1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes - I've even used leftover flakes from pizza delivery in a pinch.

So basically, you're going to rub the duck with salt and pepper and then place in the pan. Pour enough oil on top of it to cover it with about 1/4 to 1/2 inch to spare. Place the rosemary sprigs, crushed or even whole garlic in the oil and sprinkle the red pepper flakes over the oil.

Place in the oven at 200 degrees for 5-6 hours. I know most of you are thinking this will be oily and awful but trust me it's delicious. The meat will flake apart. I've put it in ravioli, puff pastry or just on its own with seasonal fall vegetables.

I have fed this to people who swear they hate duck as they devoured one duck ravioli after another.
 

CrimsonArrow

Very Active Member
Feb 21, 2011
857
363
Minnesota
I'm surprised that nobody plucks and waxes their ducks. I do it to nicer ducks that aren't shot up, then roast or grill them whole. Pretty old school that way. Honkers, on the other hand, are usually so tough I will brown and slow cook them like swiss steak. Fall apart tender and hard to tell from good roast beef.
 

Fink

Veteran member
Apr 7, 2011
1,961
204
West Side, MoMo
I'm surprised that nobody plucks and waxes their ducks. I do it to nicer ducks that aren't shot up, then roast or grill them whole. Pretty old school that way. Honkers, on the other hand, are usually so tough I will brown and slow cook them like swiss steak. Fall apart tender and hard to tell from good roast beef.
I'm planning on doing a few whole birds this fall, either roasted or smoked. I can only eat so many poppers.
 

mustang8

Active Member
Jan 30, 2017
284
72
Central WI
We have a local meat market here in central Wisconsin called The Eden Meat Market and they make goose pot pies. Absolutely amazing, tastes just like beef. Im sure there are recipes on Pintrest for anyone who wants to give it a whirl.
 

JFox

Member
Apr 21, 2017
66
2
Missouri
I love cubing duck or geese into chunks the size of your thumb, making a bowl out of foil, throwing a stick of butter in it and putting it on the grill. When the butter melts, add some lemon juice, OJ or italian seasoning (something with acidity or citrus, havent figured out exactly why but it really helps with flavor getting into the meat but retaining the Duck flavor). Toss the cubes into the butter, dust lightly with your favorite seasoning (I like cavenders greek seasoning) and remove when all sides are browned. This will mean its rare to medium rare.

Hope you enjoy!
 

Fink

Veteran member
Apr 7, 2011
1,961
204
West Side, MoMo
Just made a batch of jerky from all those teal from last weekend. Normally wouldn’t waste a perfectly delicious teal on jerky, but really wanted to try my deer jerky recipe on ducks.
6 oz red wine
4 oz hot sauce, crystal or Louisiana
2 oz soy sauce
1/2 jar pickled jalape?os
1 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp cayenne pepper

Blended the marinade, sliced the breasts into about 4 slices per breast, marinaded for 24 hours, and smoked at 200 for about 2 hours. Turned out pretty darn good. I might smoke it at a lower temp, for longer, next time