Cleaning Birds

[mpester]

Do you breast out ducks and geese or do you pluck and clean the whole bird?

[set the drag]

it depends on how shot up they r but I usually always full body my birds so I can put an orange or apples in them to take awawy some of the gamy tatse they have

[Eric Wettschreck]

I normally just breast them out, but pluck a good goose for Christmas dinner.

After I've breasted them out, I freeze the rest of the bird. It makes for great dog training next spring.

[Guest]

Early season I'll brest all of mine, but in late season, I try to pluck and wax as many as I can.

The BEST way I have found to cook them is to take those oven bags made by Reynolds and place the ducks in the bag with celery, onions and carrots, season the birds with whatever is handy and roast em for 2.5 hours at 350. When done, throw the veggies away since they have soaked up the game taste while transfering their flavor to the birds. They turn out VERY moist and tasty, almost like chicken...LOL. Seriously though, my wife would never eat duck before I started doing this and now she'll eat a whole bird. We did two geese the other night in a turkey sizeed bag and they turned out awesome.

[Slowfinger]

Tom, I usually breast mine and throw them on the grill (wrapped in bacon after soaking in buttermilk). But for your recipe, I wonder if you've ever made a gravy out of any of the sauce left in the bag/pan? I've been doing this with my grouse lately and it's awesome...!

[bigdog]

I breast ringnecks and teal. Fry in butter and garlic powder. The rest get plucked and roasted in the oven bags.

[hanson]

Its probably 50/50. Also kind of depends on how many birds there are to clean and the amount of time I've got to do it.

If I have no time, I'll breast them out. If I've got the time, I'll pick them and dip 'em in wax. I do the oven bag thing too.

Pretty tasty however you do it.

[set the drag]

tom, I second those oven bags I also use them.

[CRAPPIEBAIT]

I breast them ALL ducks/geese.NO SKIN ! I have never had a duck or goose with the skin on that didn't taste gamey.I cut all the meat off the bone,dredge in flour,brown in bacon greese and stick the whole works in the oven for an hour +/- at 325 degrees.mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[huntin and fishin kid]

It depends on if the breast is shot up then I will breast them but other wise I gut them.

[Bryce]

I'm a breast man! Whew...Glad I got that off my "chest". Is not breasting birds considered waste in some states? TX comes to mind for some reason.

[lawmanjoe]

We would breast them for years. Now a hunting buddy suggested fileting them? I thought he was crazy, but gave it at try. Wow, not much of a mess, fast and just the meat left! The next step will be cooking them.

[Guest]

Breast em out. Soak in 50/50 pineapple juice and teriaky(cant spell)

marinate overnight. Grill till pink in middle. Don't share with anyone they'll want more...

[BLACKJACK]

I used to pluck birds, then they'd still be pinny and then I'd end up breasting them anyway. Nowadays I take the skin off the breast and fillet them out, all thats left is meat. On geese, also save the legs, too much there to throw away.