# mallard duck



## mckee (Oct 28, 2010)

so theres around 20 mallard ducks around a pond just wanted to know can u eat them and if so ill get 1 and post some pics?


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## frogman (Nov 11, 2010)

Duck breast is good to eat, but, you need to know what you are doing when preparing. It can also be very tough and gamey. Good hunting. I take the liver and gizzards for myself, and feed the meat to the dogs after boiling. They love it, and it saves me on store bought dog food


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## Nico (Sep 10, 2010)

Mallard is very good and it sounds like you have some wonderful opportunities which I would not hessitate to take advantage of


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## philly (Jun 13, 2010)

One tip, breast meat looks and tastes like london broil if not over cooked. Keep it a little pink in the center. Over cooking causes toughness and a strong liver flavor. I marinate in Soy Sauce, tastes great. I only shoot puddle ducks for the table, divers are strong flavored and some times fishy. Go for it.
Philly


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## BaneofSmallGame (Sep 22, 2010)

I just had some duck breasts 2 weeks ago fresh off the hunt, and let me tell you, they were excellent. Then again most game meet entirely depends on how you prepare them to get a desired taste. If they are in your pond, you have a slingshot, and you are a good shot, I'd say don't hesitate to take as many as you can with it because they taste great. Good luck!

Cheers - John


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## Jacktrevally (Feb 14, 2011)

Yeah they are good to eat especially the breasts.


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## Tentacle Toast (Jan 17, 2013)

I haven't met a duck I haven't liked...but it is 110% in the preparation. I LOVE it roasted, but again, if it's cooked too long, it gets...weird. I'm going to attempt to deep fry one in the coming weeks; I'll let you know how it turns out.


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## D.Nelson (Feb 20, 2014)

More than likely illegal to take with a slingshot anywhere in America.


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## Nicholson (Sep 25, 2012)

Could catch em with a slingshot in Alaska. Mallard taste really good. I seen a friend take one with a rock one shot


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## zippo (Jul 9, 2014)

Even tho its an old topic that got jumped up i have to respond, mallard are very good eating, and not only the breast as some suggested, i clean the whole bird and cook it fresh from the hunt, but the livers i freeze and wait until i have a bunch of them(wait for them to bunch up as i put the livers from every hunt there), the livers marinated in orange based marinate and them grilled - the most delicious dish i have ever had... but over cooked it can go to the dogs as it worth nothing.


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## Nicholson (Sep 25, 2012)

Yep the whole duck is delicious. Get 2 or 3 in a big pot and you could make some awesome soup(I like soup)


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## zippo (Jul 9, 2014)

Nicholson said:


> Yep the whole duck is delicious. Get 2 or 3 in a big pot and you could make some awesome soup(I like soup)


Sounds intresting. I might try it, but i dont like game bird soup that much. I tried once dove soup - waste of 5 doves...


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## Nicholson (Sep 25, 2012)

Better go with the crispy duck or duck marinade. The soup is kinda gamy but I love it


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## zippo (Jul 9, 2014)

Nicholson said:


> Better go with the crispy duck or duck marinade. The soup is kinda gamy but I love it


the only game soup i like is grouse and rice soup.. i use quail for it, i make it a lot by slaughtering my domestic quails but its best with wild hunted ones, you can really taste the difference. man i cant even think about getting them with a catty... when i walk around in the hunting areas you can hear there call but can never spot them, when we hunt them we get the whole pack (of dogs) so they would scare them for shooting and retrieve them.

edit: forgot to write - i get them with a shotgun (red label 12g)


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## Susi (Mar 3, 2013)

Ducks like most wild game vary in taste from place to place and time of year... taste depends on what they eat and where they eat it...not all mallards taste alike. An older bird will be tougher than a younger bird and there's no tellin' when you see them swimming other than the obvious size difference at that time of year. Ducks are carnivorouis as well as vegetarians feeding on water plants and aquatic animals, worms, bugs mostly, some wild rice and seeds. Read the link... http://diet.yukozimo.com/what-do-mallard-ducks-eat/

and taste... it depends on time of year what they eat for they are migratory and have different diets in different venues and hence what they taste like on a dinner plate can vary widely...as well as variables in preparation. If a duck tastes fishy, it's been eating small fish and crustacians (craw dads etc).

My way to prepare mallard and wild goose for that matter is to first soak them in a solution of salt, water and beer in a big plastic bowl (metal makes them taste funny) in the fridge overnight, immersed in that liquid. 2 tbs salt per quart of liquid. Beer and water, half and half. This leaches out most of the "wild taste" and residual blood, allow a 12 hour soak at least. Next day throw the liquid away, wash the carcass in clear water, prepare a wild rice and conventional turkey stuffing mix to stuff it with, marinate the bird liberably with red wine and cooking oil to keep it moist, cover the baking pan with a lid or aluminum foil, bake at 300 F or so about an hour per lb.. At the end or when you think it's done, cut into the breast with a sharp knife to see if it's all cooked, duck sashimi isn't advisable. Baste half way through the bake with wine/cooking oil or butter or margerine, sprinkle some thyme, oregano, salt, pepper and a little sage on it after you brush on the oil so it sticks. Make sure there is a little water in the baking pan so the bird doesn't dry out and the duck is elevated off the bottom of it on a rack or something to keep it out of the liquid. If you do all that the duck will be moist and tasty. Degrease the liquid in the pan after removing the duck for carving, mix the degreased liquid with toasted flour to make gravy. All of the duck that has meat should be quite edible...not just the breast.

The secret is the leach period in the fridge to leach out wild taste and blood. If the water is really red after 12 hours, throw out the liquid and make more, soak it for another 12 hours. The idea is to leach out the blood. Blood inside the meat makes it taste stronger. When chickens are slaughtered or any animal for that matter, even chickens are bled as would be any animal if the person knows what they are doing. Since a shot animal doesn't have time to "bleed", you must leach it in that beer/brine to get that taste and blood out of it. Washing it doesn't get the blood out. I've you've ever been deer or elk or moose hunting you know you have to hand the animal upside down as soon as possible and slit the juglar vein to bleed it out before the blood coagulates inside it....else it's going to taste strong and downright stink in some cases..same with ducks.

A friend used a Peking Duck recipe, it's online in various forms...this is for domestic duck however but he said it came out well.

Chuck the duck ...eater


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## Susi (Mar 3, 2013)

Doves. I used to shoot them with a .22 semiauto rifle, scoped, in the head as they lit on Dad's corn crib to have lunch. After plucking/cleaning and leaching overnight in beer/salt water (all wild game I leach) I prepared them exactly like miniature turkeys with a bit of stuffing, sprinkling 10 of them at a time in the baking pan with salt, pepper, sage, oregano, thyme! Basted with oil and red wine, spiced and baked covered for about an hour. Delicious. Of couse the breast was the only meat. Dove drum sticks are for ants.


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## Jacktrevally (Feb 14, 2011)

I'll try your recipe soon.


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## 1Wally (Nov 14, 2014)

Susi said:


> Doves. I used to shoot them with a .22 semiauto rifle, scoped, in the head as they lit on Dad's corn crib to have lunch. After plucking/cleaning and leaching overnight in beer/salt water (all wild game I leach) I prepared them exactly like miniature turkeys with a bit of stuffing, sprinkling 10 of them at a time in the baking pan with salt, pepper, sage, oregano, thyme! Basted with oil and red wine, spiced and baked covered for about an hour. Delicious. Of couse the breast was the only meat. Dove drum sticks are for ants.


To be honest I think soaking or leaching of any game is madness. Takes all the gamey flavour away and ruins it. This, of course, is only my opinion and I realise strongly flavoured meats are an aquired taste.


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## zippo (Jul 9, 2014)

1Wally said:


> Susi said:
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> > Doves. I used to shoot them with a .22 semiauto rifle, scoped, in the head as they lit on Dad's corn crib to have lunch. After plucking/cleaning and leaching overnight in beer/salt water (all wild game I leach) I prepared them exactly like miniature turkeys with a bit of stuffing, sprinkling 10 of them at a time in the baking pan with salt, pepper, sage, oregano, thyme! Basted with oil and red wine, spiced and baked covered for about an hour. Delicious. Of couse the breast was the only meat. Dove drum sticks are for ants.
> ...


Some game i soak and some i don't, I dont soak birds, i dont soak deer, hog, goat. but i do soak rabbit, hare and sometimes porcupine (only hunted porcupine 4 times and they taste better grilled if they are soaked and better stewed if the are not soaked).


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## 1Wally (Nov 14, 2014)

WoodPigeon said:


> 1Wally said:
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The only one I can understand soaking is Hare as it is very strongly flavoured. Still not something I would do though. Over here we hang Hare like pheasant and it becomes even gamier!


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## zippo (Jul 9, 2014)

1Wally said:


> WoodPigeon said:
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what do you mean by "hang" ? clean them and tie them from the legs or something like that ? i saw some guys when i was in thailand doing that to a grouse like animal..


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## 1Wally (Nov 14, 2014)

WoodPigeon said:


> 1Wally said:
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Hung with the guts still in if they are not damaged, pheasants, grouse, partridge and hare. For a few days at least but can be longer depending on temperature. Develops the flavour and makes meat more tender.


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## zippo (Jul 9, 2014)

1Wally said:


> WoodPigeon said:
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Plucked ? Or just as he is after being shot ?


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## 1Wally (Nov 14, 2014)

Just as he is, as long as the guts are not broken.


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## zippo (Jul 9, 2014)

1Wally said:


> Just as he is, as long as the guts are not broken.


Its not hare season right now so maybe in a couple of months i would try that, but finding a cold enough weather at hare season might be a problem...


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