Simple wood duck recipe?

[RUGER]

Got a couple breasts that either need to be frozen or cooked today.
Gonna grill burgers so I figured I would just go ahead and cook them too.

What's your go to seasoning or marinade?

Thought I might try something different.

 

[BigRod]

dales, soy, worchessirereere, tony's, franks, brown sugar, garlic, onion, peperiakca for 2 hours

then grill to the way you like

 

[younggun308]

Only ways I've had them are
1. the simple salt, pepper, and olive oil on the skillet
2. Store bought teriyaki marinade, chopped and put on kebabs with pineapple slices, grilled to desired level of done-ness, doused in extra marinade on the grill

 

[TAFKAP]

Got a couple breasts that either need to be frozen or cooked today.
Gonna grill burgers so I figured I would just go ahead and cook them too.

What's your go to seasoning or marinade?

Thought I might try something different.

If you marinade a wood duck, you should be flogged

Plucked, then roasted whole is my favorite for woodies. I presume you have skin-off breasts, so I'd salt & pepper (maybe a little garlic powder), then blast them as hot as possible for about 90 seconds per side over wood coals.

If you want it a bit more done, pull off the coals and let it offset roast for about 5 more minutes.

Let it rest, slice across the grain in 1/4" strips

 

[bobbuck]

I like mine rare wrapped in bacon.

 

[RUGER]

Oh yeah

 

[Kritter Gitter]

Here is my favorite:
Take each breast and butterfly it, stuff with a banana pepper ring and a small slice of pepper jack cheese. Wrap in a slice of bacon and secure with a tooth pick. Grill to desired temp ( I never go over med) and ENJOY! This one works well for every kind of duck.

 

[Displaced_Vol]

dales, soy, worchessirereere, tony's, franks, brown sugar, garlic, onion, peperiakca for 2 hours

then grill to the way you like

Holy sodium Batman!

 

[Displaced_Vol]

Obviously too late here but for future reference.
Wood duck and teal are the best tasting ducks out there, IMO. Honestly they don't need a lot if cooked medium or less. Preferably less.
Salt & pepper, maybe the Cajun seasoning of your choice but don't over do it. OR, dry brine each breast for a couple hours in the fridge.
If they've got good fat on them, leave it on. Hot cast iron or hot grill, fat side down for a couple minutes, flip over for a few minutes less. Let them rest a minute or two.
Nice thing about the cast iron skillet is if you have enough breasts with fat to cook, you can follow up the ducks with some kind of potatoes in that rendered duck fat.

 

[Tweeter]

Cut a jalapeño in half and take a slice of duck, fill the jalapeño with cream cheese wrap in bacon. Cool till the bacon is done. The duck is fowl not poultry so you can eat it medium

 

[waterman]

once again late to the party. my fave is to breast them, leaving skin on. fry in butter skin side down until skin is crispy. salt and pepper only. flip and cook to mid rare. fine eating

 

[RUGER]

Went with the tried and true KISS method.
Liberal salt & pepper slight sprinkle of garlic powder.
They were awesome!
Got leftovers for lunch today.

 

[MickThompson]

Put me in the KISS crowd for wood ducks as well. SPOG, a little oil, and rare-med rare. Even better over a bed of coals. Plucked and smoked is good too, and they don't take long.

 

[Displaced_Vol]

I have never roasted one whole, but it's on the agenda. Some of you all that have done that ought to post up recipes & pics.

 

[RUGER]

I have never roasted one whole, but it's on the agenda. Some of you all that have done that ought to post up recipes & pics.

I did a couple last year.
I put them in a crock pot with cream of mushroom soup and let them cook a few hours.
For the amount of time it took versus the amount of meat gained, I doubt I will do another one whole.
Just breast them out, get the heart and gizzard out and I'm good.

 

[Mud Creek]

You can't go wrong with SPG and a hot cast iron skillet, but I also like to slice them thin and make fajitas or philly cheesesteak sandwiches out of them.

 

[TAFKAP]

Went with the tried and true KISS method.
Liberal salt & pepper slight sprinkle of garlic powder.
They were awesome!
Got leftovers for lunch today.

 

[TAFKAP]

I have never roasted one whole, but it's on the agenda. Some of you all that have done that ought to post up recipes & pics.

Loosely dry-pluck the big feathers, then I do a scalding wax to pluck the down. Careful not to remove too many down feathers when you dry pluck, otherwise the wax won't stick. If you do, you're better off just dry plucking the whole dang thing, then torching off the fuzzies. Probably need tweezers for the "stems" that stay in the skin

Honestly, you're best off reading up on Hank Shaw. He's an outdoor food writer and has written all kinds of stuff on cooking ducks and waterfowl. His book DUCK, DUCK, GOOSE is VERY in depth and gives all sorts of guidance.

But the short answer to your question is that if you can get a dry plucked woodie cleaned & gutted, your best bet is to dry brine with whatever flavor profile you want, let it rest a couple hours, then roast in a cast iron skillet. Because legs need longer to cook, I like to cut up carrots, celery & onions to set the bird on, then use just a shallow puddle of stock to help braise the legs & thighs. Roast the bird in a 450° oven for about 20 minutes or so. This should get the legs cooked, while leaving the breast-skin crispy. For bigger ducks (or geese), you can let it rest, carve off the breast, then finish roasting the legs in the oven to help tenderize a bit. Blast the breast in a skillet to finish crisping the skin

 

[waterman]

Went with the tried and true KISS method.
Liberal salt & pepper slight sprinkle of garlic powder.
They were awesome!
Got leftovers for lunch today.

View attachment 148749

cooked to perfection! very nicely done. hate to see ducks cooked well done

 

[Displaced_Vol]

Loosely dry-pluck the big feathers, then I do a scalding wax to pluck the down. Careful not to remove too many down feathers when you dry pluck, otherwise the wax won't stick. If you do, you're better off just dry plucking the whole dang thing, then torching off the fuzzies. Probably need tweezers for the "stems" that stay in the skin

Honestly, you're best off reading up on Hank Shaw. He's an outdoor food writer and has written all kinds of stuff on cooking ducks and waterfowl. His book DUCK, DUCK, GOOSE is VERY in depth and gives all sorts of guidance.

But the short answer to your question is that if you can get a dry plucked woodie cleaned & gutted, your best bet is to dry brine with whatever flavor profile you want, let it rest a couple hours, then roast in a cast iron skillet. Because legs need longer to cook, I like to cut up carrots, celery & onions to set the bird on, then use just a shallow puddle of stock to help braise the legs & thighs. Roast the bird in a 450° oven for about 20 minutes or so. This should get the legs cooked, while leaving the breast-skin crispy. For bigger ducks (or geese), you can let it rest, carve off the breast, then finish roasting the legs in the oven to help tenderize a bit. Blast the breast in a skillet to finish crisping the skin

I've never waxed one, but it seems straight forward. I've tried a half duck with skin on, and I took a small torch to it for the remainder after plucking. It went OK…it was time consuming though. I did like that cut though with breast, leg & thigh. I've thought about roasting whole and stuffing it with chorizo or some other kind of sausage maybe?

I've heard of Hank Shaw and maybe heard him on a podcast? Don't have any of his books but I'll definitely check out Duck, Duck, Goose.