34 replies to this topic

[Shoot-it]

My brother in-law has been shooting a lot of wood ducks and I tried making deep fried stripe's with some it still came out livery.I am thinking of smoking some.has anyone made a home made smoker how did you do it and how do you tell when the meat is done.I i am not thinking on going big maybe the size of a half metal barrel ?

[dangerranger]

The best smoker I have is a large Webber BBQ. the hardest thing about smoking is getting a concistant heat. theres something about the shape of the Webber Kettles that works well. if you need more room you could have a sheetmetal ring rolled to add some hight. it seems to me that a grill full of pheasants took just over 4 hours. But Mmmmm! My mom used to smoke ducks breast up with an halfed orange and a slab of bacon pinned to the top. that way they were self basting. I think that resipe came out of the old Betty Crocker red and white cookbook. the old ones had a wild game section. good luck, and call us when their done! DR

[ShooterJohn]

I'd do a search on Google but here is one Heywood built and it worked very well.http://www.californi...d...st&p=203321I like wood duck and have never had them taste livery but then I like liver so who knows. Is you brother gutting them right away or at least not leaving them sit along time? I cook all ducks in a BBQ or oven and have never had any bad ones that were prepared correctly. You aren't using old motor oil to deep fry them in are you?

[Shoot-it]

He shot them in the morning and we debreast them at 11 am but it is cold out still

[Tuolumne85]

I like soaking them in milk to fry and teriyaki for everything else

[Tuolumne85]

Oh and if you still don't like that make jerky with it that's what I do with almost all my honkers it's almost my favorite meat for jerky next to elk. And it keeps you from collecting carcasses in your freezer

[clampdaddy]

Duck can be tricky. When I breast them out I look at the color of the meat. If its nice and light pink it goes in the frying pan, if its dark it goes into a ziplock bag and eventually made into pepper sticks. My favorite way to cook them is a light dusting of lowrys or pappys and then a quick fry in olive oil. You want it to be pink in the middle. The more you cook it the more it'll taste like liver.

[Shoot-it]

The breast meat is very red Matt my brother in -law does plan on having made into a pepper stick or sausage when he is done with the season.I just wanted to try and eat some but i failed Sj you would have like it since you eat liver...

[ShooterJohn]

Liver. YUM!!!

[Jeff]

If you don't like that ironlike taste, you need to soak them/brine them. Soak in milk/buttermilk or saltwater for as little as an hour, all the way up to 12 hours. Do what you'd like with them after that. You'll be amazed at the difference. This goes for any duck, really. However, I wouldn't touch a Teal or Canvasback, and I'd keep them whole with the skin on for a proper feast.

[ShooterJohn]

I made barbecued teal the other day they are my favorite. Yum.

[Tuolumne85]

Teal and specks are the best eating birds period

[Shoot-it]

I had them in butter milk for 24 hours and now I am soaking them in salt water.These wood ducks are local they had almond meat in there throat so i thought it should be good eating .I am just experimenting with them.

[clampdaddy]

You getting those woodies right there on your river bottom property? You have to be carefully of how many you shoot because around here they seem to stay in the same area most of their lives so if you wipe them out you might not see any more for a few years in that part of the river. Most duck hunters around here won't shoot them once they have one nice drake on the wall. I'm still waiting to shoot my first one.

[Shoot-it]

No Matt he is shooting them off then river that runs threw Waterford he is a bird brain he told me he is up to 60 woods this season.The other day someone broke into his truck stole his snap on tools then he still go's back the next day to the same stop and parks his truck.Merced river sucks for ducks i only see a few mud hens unless someone floats they might see different........................................................where have you been duck hunting this season?I haven't done any duck hunting to busy predator hunting.It's time to get after them crows so when are we going out.........

[ShooterJohn]

I hope he doesn't have all of those ducks in his freezer? That would put him way over the limit.

[Shoot-it]

Are you only allowed to keep so much at home.His son hunts with him to .

[ShooterJohn]

Just like any other animal there are bag and possession limits and that is way over the limit.

[seebass]

Just like any other animal there are bag and possession limits and that is way over the limit.

Thanks SJ, I NEVER thought that the possession limit applied to your freezer as well. I always assumed it refered to what you are traveling with...Man, I'm sure there are a TON of hunters over possession limits if in fact this is the way the law is applied.

[ShooterJohn]

§251.7. Possession, Transportation and Importation of Game Birds. ( a ) No person may possess any birds taken in this state in excess of the daily bag and possession limits. The exception to this is for the purpose of transportation, cleaning, storage (including temporary storage), shipment, or taxidermy services, where an individual may possess game birds taken by another hunter provided that they are tagged by the hunter who has lawfully taken them. The tag must contain the hunter's name, address, hunting license number, kinds and numbers of game birds taken, date and location of kill, and signature. ( b ) All birds, including migratory game birds, possessed or transported within California must have a fully feathered wing or head attached until placed into a personal abode or commercial preservation facility or being prepared for immediate consumption. Doves must have a fully feathered wing attached. ( c ) Migratory game birds imported into California shall be accompanied by a declaration of entry as prescribed in Section 2353 of the Fish and Game Code. ( d ) Only one possession limit of migratory game birds may be possessed per individual after the close of the season for that species.

[zippy1970]

And thats why you eat your game ( birds , ducks , fish , lobster , etc ) immediatly or give them to friends . We love fresh game too Andy

[bzzrd feedr]

I had them in butter milk for 24 hours and now I am soaking them in salt water.These wood ducks are local they had almond meat in there throat so i thought it should be good eating .I am just experimenting with them.

So John how did they turn out this way?? I've found the key to good waterfowl is cooking it Med. Rare. The overcooking will ruin it unless you love Liver.

[ShooterJohn]

Cali is a wardenless state with 900 of them for like 30+ million. The laws on the books are a joke by that sad statistic.

Not sure where you came up with those figures. Because there are less than 200 wardens in the field and there are 37.3 million people in California according to the last census. As for that warden telling you 7 everyday he was correct as long as you didn't have any more in your freezer at home.

[bzzrd feedr]

If your wife has a license and your kids have a license then you are allowed to gift ducks provided they are properly tagged. The fact that there are so few wardens (1 for every 185000) makes the chances of getting a visit to your home from a Warden highly improbable. Kinda like winning the Lottery. At our Duck Club I haven't seen a Warden in 15+ years. I'm not suggesting anyone break the law but abiding by the law is relatively simple with multiple licenses in a household. We use printed out labels at the Club with our Lic # location etc all on a label so all we have to do is check off the ducks, date and sign. We also keep a record in our master log recording what each blind shot that day and total at the end of the year for reporting to CWA, DU and Grasslands. Hunting is a privilege not a right and though I don't agree with many of the regulations I try to the best of my ability to know the rules and abide by them. I've been checked by Wardens countless times over the past 50 years of hunting but never been cited for a violation. The two sets of Regulations which are the most confusing to a newcomer IMHO would have to be Waterfowl and Rock Fish. I quit Rock Fishing because I really didn't care for trying to become a Marine Biologist to fish for rockies that aren't much fun to catch. I'm fairly good at indentifying ducks and with the Regulations it comes in handy. Can't imagine a newbie trying to figure out the type of duck it is at 25 minutes before sunrise.

[ShooterJohn]

So in essence you are condoning poaching or am I taking what you said wrong?

[bzzrd feedr]

John I didn't read it that anyone is condoning poaching. The article was just discussing our situation, that the shrinking revenues due to less licenses being sold that enforcement is lacking. Basically discussing the dismal situation of our states poorly run government and DFG which is creating commercial opportunities for organized crime. As a native Californian who remembers growing up hunting and fishing in the 50's-60's, I can't dispute anything in the article but only would add that outlawing hunting of the cougar didn't help our deer situation.

[ShooterJohn]

You may be right Dale. I read this sentence and probably took it the wrong way.

A poacher has about as much chance being caught red handed as winning the lottery...

If I took it wrong I apologize.

[bzzrd feedr]

No fowl no Harm! He stole my line from the earlier post on the lottery.

[ShooterJohn]

The silver lining is that at least private lands and ranches are better managed. One may bitch about Tejon Ranch charging 4k per deer but at least they have deers and enforce their property rights... you don't hear about many poachers there.

I don't know about that. Here is just one of the goings on at Tejon Ranch.http://latimesblogs....jon-ranch-.html

[bzzrd feedr]

Now that we have totally hi-jacked this thread I'm going to go take some of my wife's ducks out of the freezer to thaw for dinner. I'm thinking roasted hot to med rare basted in soy,honey, and orange curaco ? spell? then using the drippings and some more curraco to make a dipping sauce. My mouth is watering as I'm typing.