i went hunting by myself over the weekend and have a few wood ducks to eat…this is a relatively new culinary area for me, and my problem is keeping them moist.
i’ve tried a couple things in the past and haven’t found any favorites yet. i’d like to cook the whole bird (skin on) if possible, and have tried slow cooking in a crock pot and in the oven (covered in wine), along with smoking them. had trouble keeping them from being dry in the slow cooking methods.
i’m considering roasting or deep frying after brining and marinating… pls help with tips or recipes… i value these birds highly and want to do them justice!
Brine em for 24hrs then bake/roast in oven Hot 350 to start then back off to @ 275 need breast @ 140 degrees internal I coat them with either orange marmalade or red pepper jelly The hot oven is to seal them. If you use slo cooker dont cover the birds with fluid it is counter intuitive but it will dry birds out. if you slo cook raise birds off bottom and only put enough liquid in to roast birds not boil’em.
good luck on the cooking. i am doing mine in my orion cooker/smoker. regardless of the outcome; that is one great picture. that would make a neat screensaver or even a poster. good job and merry christmas.
I have had good luck by soaking in Italian Dressing over night, stuff with Boudin sausage (cut out of cassing) and wrap in bacon, and smoke on the Webber.
My house is protected by God and a gun, Ill introduce you to them both if you show up unwelcomed.
after much searching and discussion, i think i’m going to try a simple roast recipe, which is kind of the opposite of the slow cookery i failed with before. i specifically appreciate the comments on how not to dry out the birds… i’ll be cooking them relatively hot after browning them in a pan i think, and saving all those drippings for some duck fat fried potatoes! one adaptation to the following is that i may stuff the cavities with chorizo sausage and rice as i saw in a different recipe.
1 duck
1/2 onion, sliced
1 carrot, chopped
2 bacon slices
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 c. wine vinegar
salt and pepper
Rinse duck and pat dry. Sprinkle inside and outside of duck with salt and pepper. Stuff inside cavity with carrots and celery. Place in pan and top with bacon.
I do a lot of waterfowling and wood duck is probably in the top 2 or 3 of eating ducks. First off, I have never done the whole duck as you are suggesting, I always breast out the ducks and sometimes take out the legs/thighs too. Regardless, I soak them in saltwater for 8 hours at a minimum to draw out the blood. In my opinion the best way to eat wood duck is grilled on a very hot grill…get some good char on the exterior and leave the interior medium rare, this will guard against youor moisture problems. As far as marinade, I like to use soy sauce/EVOO/greek seasoning and a little bit of fresh rosemary. Italian dressing is good too. Good luck!
thanks kiawah- just couldn’t bear to throw away everything but the breasts, so i spent a long while last night plucking, burning hair off, cleaning, then brining. amazingly few pellets to the bodies, and lots of fat around the neck and tail, so i’m planning to roast them tonight after about 16 hours in the soak.
will try to take a picture if they don’t look too terrible!
I have had good luck by soaking in Italian Dressing over night, stuff with Boudin sausage (cut out of cassing) and wrap in bacon, and smoke on the Webber.
My house is protected by God and a gun, Ill introduce you to them both if you show up unwelcomed.
well drop ur socks and grab ur rocks, this recipe is gonna blow u away but its just for the breasts! filet the breast of the bird separating the tenderloin from the breast. butterfly the breast open and stuff it with cream cheese and a jalepeno and wrap it in bacon, water soaked tooth pics to hold it together, and slow cook it on the grill for 15-20 slice the thickest one open to check doneness and pull the smaller ones off earlier. incredible!!! promise and u can “Kick it up a notch” with Dale’s seasoning but just splash it on the bird dont soak or marinate in dales!!! BAM!!
19’ Key West CC 140 Johnson
16’ War Eagle 40 Yami
12’ Alumacraft 1954 Johnson 5.5
