Cleaning Birds

[riversmallmouth35]

How many of you guys take all of the meat off of the birds? I have noticed many people just taking the breast off of geese and ducks and I know they are missing a lot of meat.

[eyepatrol]

90% breasting, other 10% I leave whole by gutting out.

Duck's legs and wings aren't worth it IMO. Geese....the breast and legs unless I leave them whole.

[paceman]

I just breast them out. There isn't much else on ducks and I just don't like Goose legs. I do however love a nice juicy breast....

[carpshooterdeluxe]

ive found that goose legs are very hit or miss at best as far as flavor and tenderness. i dont like to spend a lot of time brining or marinading my meat; so other than plucking a few fat later season mallards and honkers for roasting, i breast all my birds. id rather take the time trimming tallow, cleaning wound channels, and grilling goose breasts than still be standing in the garage plucking!

[101winchester]

A couple nice fat teal or wood duck or two roasted with bacon over the top, good eating. Ringbills and others hit the pot for duck soup except the occasional red leg straight from Canada that hits the roaster.

[Sartell Angler]

I always just breast them, except will fully roast a few with the skin on. These are late season birds though.

Canvasbacks on the other hand always get the royal treatment...would never breast a canvasback! They're too dang good and that includes the legs. Too bad the USFWS shyte the bed this year and gave it to us in the rear.

[BigWadeS]

I would say I breast 90% and keep 10% whole, the 10% is usually larger geese, ducks I always breast out, unless they are the big northern mallards

[morefishplease]

We always clean the whole duck and geese is prob 50/50

[BoxMN]

Breast about 99% of ducks and geese. I don't like roasted duck, and the legs just don't taste good to me. But we eat up the breasts like perfect little steaks on the grill. I used to clean the ducks, but just found we weren't eating anything other than the breast anyway.

Like Sartell A. said, occassionally the cans get the royal treatment, but our cook for those died in January, so we will have to see what happens when we can shoot them again...

[BLACKJACK]

Nowadays I always breast out my ducks, I've had too many ducks where I've spent the time to pick the feathers and then you have so many pin feathers that you end up skinning them anyway, no more of that for me. I will save the legs of mallards or other big ducks.

Geese I also breast out, but I will save the legs and thighs, if you have several geese those legs and thighs make up a nice small roaster full.

I've had the same argument with guys on pheasants, a lot of guys just breast them out. To me thats a waste. Granted the lower leg is stringy but that thigh meat is as good as it gets. You can debone it and its just as good as a deboned pheasant breast.

[riverrat56]

I breast all my ducks out, just don't like the taste of the legs, if I have more than 1 goose I will breast it, otherwise I sometimes skin them out, take the whole bird minus the skin, wrapped up in bacon and in an oven bag they are very good. Plucking all those feathers just isn't my thing.

[Ray Esboldt]

I am with you Blackjack. I always eat pheasant legs. I'll pick those over the rest of the bird.

Ducks and geese - breast them.

[eyepatrol]

When we pluck our birds, we do it while out hunting. Gives us something to do while waiting for that next duck or flock to come in. And, late in the fall, it helps warm the hands a bit.

The up-side is you save time from waiting until you get back. The down side is your hands get wet and it makes for a feathery mess where ever you're sitting. Plus, if you get that flock that puts the sneak on you, your hands are usually full of feathers.

[Sartell Angler]

that, and the grip-and-grin after the hunt is somewhat ruined

Pheasant legs are as good or better than the breasts! I pick those over the white meat anyday.

[2222]

Anybody ever try smoking goose leg. There pretty darn good.

[BobT]

For goose and pheasant I take the breast and thighs. The legs are too laced with tendon and difficult to eat and when it's all said and done, there's not enough meat there to justify the time it takes.

Bob

[dan z]

full body most of mine. early season geese I usually breast out not enough freezer space. plus thier easier to cook.

[Twins 57 Fan]

I make a lot of duck jerky out of mine so I take the meat wherever I can peel it off.