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Q:
Does anyone know a good way to pluck the feathers off a duck that is not so labor-intensive? Also, is it necessary to roast or bake the hell out of them to render the fat so they're not so greasy?
Question by 99explorer. Uploaded on November 16, 2009
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Answers (10)
If you pluck them the same day their shot or dunk them in a pot of boiling water for 3-5 SECONDS they also come out very easy. And i found out if you cook them in a brown PAPER bag,(like you pack school lunchs in) it soaks up some gearse.
I always skin ducks because their hide is greasy and not very tasty. Just cut the breast hide and peal it away.
The boiling water helps with the plucking. One way i like to cook ducks, geese, etc is smoke them on a smoker. It makes them taste great, and cooks the grease out of them like no other.
farmboy is right. smoking them is the way to go. as for plucking them, the boiling water works good and as dawson said, plucking them the same day helps. depending on your trip back home, the sooner after they're shot, the easier it is to pluck, skin, etc.
Do NOT overcook duck to "render" off grease. Duck should not be overcooked and a lot of people like the breast rare.
BTW store-bought ducks and geese are very fat, but the wild ones are not. Do not use recipes for store-bought ones for those bagged in the wild.
I don't think of ducks as being greasy myself.
I skin and bone my larger ducks and geese. I have a great recipe for marinading the meat and then cook on the barbecue. Slice the goose breast sides in to four pieces lengthways. For teal, I pluck and stuff them with quartered oranges (peel attached) and put three or so in a crock pot and cook for a couple of hours.
As of yet I have never taken any waterfowl,but back when read up to dress and clean my first pheasant it said to heat the water to 160-180 F.It was suggested that for waterfowl you pull the large feathers and for the small ones you add paraffin wax to the pot [about 1/4 in.]dip ,swish,raise slowly and hold or hang until wax hardens.Just remember that to move those feathers around under that water
I make produce/sell over the internet, a custom made, inexpensive $125 for a kit, Duck plucker that take only minutes to pluck a duck, Just out this fall, featured in Sept/Oct DU magazine The EASY PLUCK should have EVERYONE enjoying ROAST DUCK again, I also have an excellent recipe on my web site where you can watch as I pluck a duck IN MY LIVING ROOM WWW.PLUCKWITHEASYPLUCK.COM Thank You, ROD
Buy one of those rubber fingered feather pluckers from cabelas and clamp a shop vac behind it. You can clean birds so fast that way. That's what I do.
The bitter taste of a duck is in the fat. The skin has a lot of fat in it. Also, ducks must also be aged just like venison. Bearing this in mind, gut the duck and hang him for a week in freezing weather. Then skin him and cook. Since you have cut away the fat and skin, you must replace the fat. Place the duck on aluminum foil, put an equal amount of fatty spare ribs with it, pour your favorite Barbeque sauce on it, wrap the aluminu foil, and allow to simmer for four hours. Dip the duck in the juice.
usuing a smoker really helps to kill the grease off, the wife boils them first to help with quick plucking
Post an Answer
The boiling water helps with the plucking. One way i like to cook ducks, geese, etc is smoke them on a smoker. It makes them taste great, and cooks the grease out of them like no other.
If you pluck them the same day their shot or dunk them in a pot of boiling water for 3-5 SECONDS they also come out very easy. And i found out if you cook them in a brown PAPER bag,(like you pack school lunchs in) it soaks up some gearse.
farmboy is right. smoking them is the way to go. as for plucking them, the boiling water works good and as dawson said, plucking them the same day helps. depending on your trip back home, the sooner after they're shot, the easier it is to pluck, skin, etc.
Do NOT overcook duck to "render" off grease. Duck should not be overcooked and a lot of people like the breast rare.
BTW store-bought ducks and geese are very fat, but the wild ones are not. Do not use recipes for store-bought ones for those bagged in the wild.
I don't think of ducks as being greasy myself.
I always skin ducks because their hide is greasy and not very tasty. Just cut the breast hide and peal it away.
I make produce/sell over the internet, a custom made, inexpensive $125 for a kit, Duck plucker that take only minutes to pluck a duck, Just out this fall, featured in Sept/Oct DU magazine The EASY PLUCK should have EVERYONE enjoying ROAST DUCK again, I also have an excellent recipe on my web site where you can watch as I pluck a duck IN MY LIVING ROOM WWW.PLUCKWITHEASYPLUCK.COM Thank You, ROD
Buy one of those rubber fingered feather pluckers from cabelas and clamp a shop vac behind it. You can clean birds so fast that way. That's what I do.
I skin and bone my larger ducks and geese. I have a great recipe for marinading the meat and then cook on the barbecue. Slice the goose breast sides in to four pieces lengthways. For teal, I pluck and stuff them with quartered oranges (peel attached) and put three or so in a crock pot and cook for a couple of hours.
As of yet I have never taken any waterfowl,but back when read up to dress and clean my first pheasant it said to heat the water to 160-180 F.It was suggested that for waterfowl you pull the large feathers and for the small ones you add paraffin wax to the pot [about 1/4 in.]dip ,swish,raise slowly and hold or hang until wax hardens.Just remember that to move those feathers around under that water
The bitter taste of a duck is in the fat. The skin has a lot of fat in it. Also, ducks must also be aged just like venison. Bearing this in mind, gut the duck and hang him for a week in freezing weather. Then skin him and cook. Since you have cut away the fat and skin, you must replace the fat. Place the duck on aluminum foil, put an equal amount of fatty spare ribs with it, pour your favorite Barbeque sauce on it, wrap the aluminu foil, and allow to simmer for four hours. Dip the duck in the juice.
usuing a smoker really helps to kill the grease off, the wife boils them first to help with quick plucking
Post an Answer