# Cleaning Ducks



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

How do you normally clean your ducks? Many just breast them out. 

I try to keep the whole duck, including the heart and gizzard.

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## uthntr (Feb 19, 2008)

I've always just breasted them out.


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## duckhunter1096 (Sep 25, 2007)

I breast them out, and get the hearts from bigger ducks. Haven't done the gizzards.


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## truemule (Sep 12, 2007)

Normally I juat breast them, unless they are a larger species with enough meat on the legs to make it worth keeping.


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## lunkerhunter2 (Nov 3, 2007)

I kill too many to worry about the whole bird.  I just breast them out. I am usually too tired at that point to ponder doing the whole bird. Geese on the other hand always get skinned whole.


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

lunkerhunter2 said:


> I just breast them out. I am usually too tired at that point to ponder doing the whole bird.


This is my thing too.... I'm normally tired from a death march and just want to get the ducks cleaned and soakin. Its usually about all I can do to put my crap away and clean ducks before i go fall asleep for a couple hours.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Interesting, and what I find to be the norm out West.

I try my best, but I don't always have the time, to pluck puddle ducks in the field. When I get home they get singed with a propane torch and gutted. 

Hunted birds on the Mississippi Flyway for about 20 years. Usually just skinned them, but always kept the whole bird including the heart, liver, and gizzards. Once in awhile I would go to the guided goose pits. They had those motorized pluckers so many of the birds were dressed out whole. 

I've hunted ducks in the Pacific Flyway now for over 25 years and for some reason changed from skinning to picking feathers off the birds (after the pin feather season). 

One thing's for sure, the way I dress a duck takes a while.


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## Nor-tah (Dec 16, 2007)

wyogoob said:


> Interesting, and what I find to be the norm out West.
> 
> I try my best, but I don't always have the time, to pluck puddle ducks in the field. When I get home they get singed with a propane torch and gutted.
> 
> ...


And I bet your hands smell great after too. :mrgreen:

I just breast em out. Not a huge fan of eating them anyway so I dont shoot too many anymore. They are just so fun to jump and decoy though.


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## HuntingCrazy (Sep 8, 2007)

Grinding up ducks into jerkey is the only way that I will eat duck anymore. That way there is no throwing away cooked duck that tastes like mud. Wasting cooked game meatmakes me feel bad.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

HuntingCrazy said:


> Grinding up ducks into jerkey is the only way that I will eat duck anymore. That way there is no throwing away cooked duck that tastes like mud. Wasting cooked game meatmakes me feel bad.


I do goose jerky, but not duck.

So you grind duck meat huh? Check out my duck sausage in the "Recipe" section.


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## hoghunter011583 (Jul 21, 2008)

I breast them out and also keep the legs and gizard. I don't like wasting the legs.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Lots of newbies since this poll was posted 4 years ago.

What do ya think? Lots of members went to a duck cooking presentation the other night and rant and rave about the guy's recipe for duck legs and thighs.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

I love crispy duck skin too much to not pluck the birds, and then as I shoot a new species I just remember if it was or not so that I don't shoot another one again. Having only shot 2 geese I have done similar things there and really enjoyed it, now to only get some more!


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Pluck em the old fashioned way. Don't kill enough to warrant a machine plucker.


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## outdoorser (Jan 14, 2013)

I do both. I usually breast em out though (just as I did 5 minutes ago and last night:smile Dang I love hunting.


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

Im a breast man


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## outdoorser (Jan 14, 2013)

Bax* said:


> Im a breast man


-/O_-


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

I have heard of guys using parafin wax and plucking their birds this way. Anybody here use this method before? Melt wax, dunk bird, peel off wax with feathers, reheat wax strain out feathers and reuse.


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## KennyC (Apr 28, 2010)

I currently breast them out, however my neighbor has been helping me learn to take leg meat and such. I would rather skin and cook whole though. I am a little timmid on the eating duck cooked that way. I LOVE duck jerky and my kids won't leave it alone. The leg meat is more of a pain when making jerky, but it doesn't matter considering I can count my kills for the year on one hand.


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## Airborne (May 29, 2009)

If this thread goes the way of the big game animal meat thread then all of you 'breast' men better be prepared for some flack...what do you mean you throw away the neck meat on a duck! How dare you! you unethical sons a guns! The neck meat of a duck weighs at least 2 ounces and is delicious, you should lose your hunting rights! yada yada yada, just wait. LostLouisianian is going to light you guys up!http://utahwildlife.net/forum/members/9231-lostlouisianian.html


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

Airborne said:


> If this thread goes the way of the big game animal meat thread then all of you 'breast' men better be prepared for some flack...what do you mean you throw away the neck meat on a duck! How dare you! you unethical sons a guns! The neck meat of a duck weighs at least 2 ounces and is delicious, you should lose your hunting rights! yada yada yada, just wait. LostLouisianian is going to light you guys up!


So you are a leg and thigh guy? :mrgreen:


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

^^^Alls I knows is that I likes to see me some skin!
--on ducks of course....errr


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## pelican (Mar 29, 2012)

Airborne said:


> If this thread goes the way of the big game animal meat thread then all of you 'breast' men better be prepared for some flack...what do you mean you throw away the neck meat on a duck! How dare you! you unethical sons a guns! The neck meat of a duck weighs at least 2 ounces and is delicious, you should lose your hunting rights! yada yada yada, just wait. LostLouisianian is going to light you guys up!http://utahwildlife.net/forum/members/9231-lostlouisianian.html


That won't happen in the waterfowl section. Here its nothin but peace and love......peace and love*


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

*scalding*



johnnycake said:


> I have heard of guys using parafin wax and plucking their birds this way. Anybody here use this method before? Melt wax, dunk bird, peel off wax with feathers, reheat wax strain out feathers and reuse.


That is called scalding. Scalding and hanging a bird until it's guts "plop out" are not practiced much, if at all, in these parts.

We scalded all of our domestic farm birds back home. It's a lot of work and the water has to be in the right temperature range.

Sometimes I will skin wild birds if there's a lot of pin feathers, a lame excuse on my part. Just leave the pin feathers alone and cook the bird with the skin. It keeps the bird moist and flavorful, better than aluminum foil does.

Parafin was a common household necessity back in the day. The wax left over from scalding chickens could easily end up being poured over a jar of raspberry jam to seal it.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Bax* said:


> So you are a leg and thigh guy? :mrgreen:


Some guys will say anything just to get to the TOP OF THE PAGE! :mrgreen:

.


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## Hoopermat (Dec 17, 2010)

Lately I have been just breasting them out. The last couple weeks I have had four helpers. My cat and his three friends will finish off the rest of the duck after I breast it out. Seems like they are always waiting for me to get home.


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

wyogoob said:


> Some guys will say anything just to get to the TOP OF THE PAGE! :mrgreen:
> 
> .


Its about all I can do to look important Goob. Lately I have nothing valuable to contribute since I work like a maniac


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## duckkillerclyde (Mar 26, 2012)

Do you like duck gizzard *******?


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I'm bumping this thread for all the UWN newbies.

How do you clean your ducks?


.


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## Dunkem (May 8, 2012)

Leave um whole,Hearts and gizzards wrapped in bacon,yum.


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## Jedidiah (Oct 10, 2014)

The next time I get a quality mallard I'm going to try to use the fat for something, maybe fry some potatoes in it. There's a bunch of recipes that use duck fat, it has to be good for something.

Using propane to singe the carcass, do you pluck them after that? I'd like to pluck a bird and try frying it breast down to crisp the skin, and then roast it. I remember reading about someone doing that on here, sounded good.


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## Cazador (Sep 4, 2014)

I'm looking to make one of these to make plucking ducks and geese a breeze.


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## paddler (Jul 17, 2009)

I recently started plucking the skin over the breast on pintail and GWT before breasting them out. Pan sear them skin side down first, then turn them to finish. The crispy skin is a treat, and the medium rare meat is moist, tender and delicious. I tried the same with wigeon and it wasn't worth it. I only shoot a few species, and really enjoy the ones I shoot:


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

This is how I clean ducks. Be sure to use a no-tear shampoo because the regular stuff stings their eyes.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Cazador said:


> I'm looking to make one of these to make plucking ducks and geese a breeze.


That's the second damnest thing I ever seen!

.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

longbow said:


> This is how I clean ducks. Be sure to use a no-tear shampoo because the regular stiff stings their eyes.


That's the third damnest thing I ever seen!!

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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Jedidiah said:


> The next time I get a quality mallard I'm going to try to use the fat for something, maybe fry some potatoes in it. There's a bunch of recipes that use duck fat, it has to be good for something.
> 
> Using propane to singe the carcass, do you pluck them after that? I'd like to pluck a bird and try frying it breast down to crisp the skin, and then roast it. I remember reading about someone doing that on here, sounded good.


Pluck the duck first. Keep the bird dry and then singe off the fuzz and those stubborn little feathers on the legs and armpits.



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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Pick the goose and singe the fuzz off with a torch:


And then gut the bird:


The liver will make pâté and the rest of the giblets will be used in Christmas goose stuffing:


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Good-lookin' fat mallards:


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Picked these in the duck blind:


Ready to singe:


Cleaned:


Really clean:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v226/wyogoob/Cooking%20from%209-6-10/Ducks%20n%20Geese/5%20ducks%20spatch****%202017_d_sm_zpspgccmxh5.jpg


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

This guy I've been duck hunting with doesn't eat duck but he has a friend that loves duck so we cut the breasts out and give them to him. I get the rest of the bird. Geeze, I feel a little guilty getting the best of the bird...oh well.

I feel pretty fortunate. My pal gets me on a nice little creek within a mile from town on private ground. The creek flows fast and has lots of springs so it doesn't freeze up readily. Ducks, snipe and geese. Quite a number of duck species, even a Woody once in awhile. I shot a Redhead and a Snow Goose the other day.

I pick the ducks first, usually out on the creek, and my partner takes the breasts with a nice piece of skin on them like Paddler showed earlier in this thread:


I'm making out OK:


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Hey, doesn't matter if ya pick em, skin em or breast em, just get out and enjoy the great outdoors.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Relaxing in my duck blind:


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## JerryH (Jun 17, 2014)

Retired guys make me jealous lol


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## OverTheEdge (Sep 12, 2013)

JerryH said:


> Retired guys make me jealous lol


Sometimes I miss work. Its hard to hunt and fish every day!


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## OverTheEdge (Sep 12, 2013)

Some ducks you just have to pick and roast(or BBQ). This was a mid season pintail that died from one pellet to the head. It qualifies as a Wagu pintail as it must have been 30-40% fat. And no pin feathers or even broken bones. Did a Colusa BBQ burn to it and it was fantastic. Quite the fire ball with the amount of fat it had!


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## JerryH (Jun 17, 2014)

OverTheEdge said:


> View attachment 134529
> 
> Some ducks you just have to pick and roast(or BBQ). This was a mid season pintail that died from one pellet to the head. It qualifies as a Wagu pintail as it must have been 30-40% fat. And no pin feathers or even broken bones. Did a Colusa BBQ burn to it and it was fantastic. Quite the fire ball with the amount of fat it had!


Had a burn and we were not invited? Its official your unfriended lol


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## paddler (Jul 17, 2009)

OverTheEdge said:


> View attachment 134529
> 
> Some ducks you just have to pick and roast(or BBQ). This was a mid season pintail that died from one pellet to the head. It qualifies as a Wagu pintail as it must have been 30-40% fat. And no pin feathers or even broken bones. Did a Colusa BBQ burn to it and it was fantastic. Quite the fire ball with the amount of fat it had!


Where's the after photo?


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## OverTheEdge (Sep 12, 2013)

paddler said:


> Where's the after photo?


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## paddler (Jul 17, 2009)

I think I have on like that, too. Don't do this under a covered deck.


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## OverTheEdge (Sep 12, 2013)

paddler said:


> I think I have on like that, too. Don't do this under a covered deck.


You mean like the one in the photo?!


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## OverTheEdge (Sep 12, 2013)

paddler said:


> I think I have on like that, too. Don't do this under a covered deck.











Gets scary when you burn a bunch at once!


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Clean Gaddy and a Mallard








Look at the fat on that duck!


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## one4fishing (Jul 2, 2015)

Yummm


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

The term "Blood Eagle" suddenly comes to mind...

-DallanC


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