Need duck recipes, both for meat and eggs

[Shiloh Acres]

If anyone needs any extra muscovy ducklings - PLEASE - let me know! - Found 11 more this morning...

They hatch in fall too?

I hadn't realized that. I REALLY want some 'Scovys. Didn't get to order any this year.

It's getting cool though. I had HOPED to do most of brooding OUTside from now on ...

Ah well. Guess you just got me dreaming. If they're not freshly hatched, can't ship them anyways? I don't suppose you live anywhere around Dallas, LOL.

Sure wish I could take them.

 

[Bourbon Red]

Haha - nope - sorry - northern Ohio. they hatch any time they can. This is the 3d clutch for my hens this year. I have another one who is trying to hide a nest - I keep feeding her eggs to the pigs... Seriously - in the hillbilly zodiac this has to be the "Year of the Duck"...

But seriously - the duck sausage is a great way to use them up. Check on-line for confit and duck proscuitto too. Michael Ruhlman's 'Charcuterie' has several good ones - it should be at the library. Any french cookbook will have tons of good duck recipes too.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Really? Maybe for you, but I have four muscovies hens and two drakes. All four hens have sat three times each ( one is setting right now.) Guess how many ducklings I have? NONE!!!! Hubby is ready for these ducks to go bye bye. they are dirty all the time, poop all over the patio, do not use the pond. All that would be tolerable if they actually contributed towards the freezer camp. Well, these 6 will be going to freezer camp as their only contribution. Ifthe one who is setting right now actually hatches some out, she will get a free pass to raise the younguns, but the rest are going.

 

[Shiloh Acres]

Maybe it's a problem with the drake/s? They don't use the pond -- do muscovies need to breed in water for high hatch rates?

All the ones I've known breed at a rate to almost be pests. I was hoping to get some to raise for meat as well as breeders, and I'd toyed with the idea of letting them set clutches of goose eggs.

Probably be a year and a half before I get to try that, but hopefully by then I can have Muscovy hens and a good supply of goose eggs. My real motivation is to raise geese.

 

[miss_thenorth]

No, scovies do not need water to mate. And the eggs are fertile. Problem is, They would start setting on 16 or so eggs, and when it got down to within a week to the hatch date, all the eggs would be gone. At first we set up rat traps in the barn where they were setting, thining mice were eating them, but the trap still had bait in it a few weeks later. someone told me the drakes might have been stealing them?

 

[debo4702]

I have a question. I know muscovy is the duck in question here but I have 17 beautiful Pekin ducks that we hatched out late this spring. I want to butcher the extra drakes...if I can figure out which ones they are. None have drake feathers yet. But all seem to be nice and heavy. The thing is I heard these have more fat than the other breeds..is this true and does that affect the recipes for duck? Chickens I know, ducks I don't. Any one have any experience with this?

 

[savingdogs]

Thank you all for so much interest and ideas on my thread!

Mspony, I wanted to be careful about just letting my dogs have parts of the ducks they could not recognize from the animal, like the organs, which we don't like to eat, and cook them. I train foster dogs from the humane society and don't need to teach them to chase poultry. The muscovy hold their own most of the time though.

I give all bones to my chickens as they adore them and gets rid of them for me so my dogs don't get tempted to get into the trash for them and hurt themselves on cooked bones, etc. My sons get grossed out when I feed the chickens chicken bones, though!

Love the broth idea, Wifezilla, you seem to be the duck guru around here! I'd love to see your set-up and taste things in your kitchen. And Bourbon Red, french cookbook is a great idea! I've seen recipes for confit but I'm sorry, that fat just looks so gross. And I find I don't care for the smell of duck fat, I know people cook in it, but we tried it and didn't really care for the smell of it while it was cooking. The food was good but the smell turned off all of our appetites. So I'd have to try confit first before trying to make it.

missthenorth, I hope we have more luck with these ducks, so far none of them have sat on any eggs. But we had a bossy cayuga drake here, he was mating with everyone and I removed all eggs. Now that he is gone my muscovy drake is finally taking care of his ladies. I think it is a little late in the year for us to try, but next year I'd love to have a September hatch so we'll have duck for Christmas!
Debo I don't know how to tell Pekin male from female, with muscovy it is easy as pie. I wish we had gotten a few Pekin though, these muscovy eggs don't seem as large as the Pekin ones I've seen. Am I wrong?
Scovy's don't need water to mate, in fact, I have not seen mine mating in our pond.
Thanks again.

 

[Shiloh Acres]

I wonder WHY drakes would steal eggs? Like takeover lions killing cubs so they can breed again? Doesn't really manse sense to me tho ... If that were a natural behavior seems it would be counterproductive?

And Deb, have their voices changed? I've raised various kinds of ducks but not Pekins. They are next on my list along with Scovys and another egg-layer (not decided yet). I generally see drake feathers by four months if I remember right. Sometimes as young as two months. Surely you don't have ALL girls. Maybe Pekins are different there. But I could always double-check sex with perfect accuracy by the voices. I know Scovies sound a bit different but I think Pekins follow the same as other ducks? The females develop a LOUD "Whack-Whack" call, while the males are -- hard to describe but sort of whispery and like they are talking in their throats rather than yelling. Can you tell differences there? Surely they're not still peeping? Guess it depends on what "late spring" is to you too. Technically I guess that could be as late as early June, but I always think of April as being pretty late in spring, in the south.

Savingdogs, sorry if my part in this led your thread too far astray. I'll be (hopefully) needing duck recipes next year. At least I know I like duck, but ours have always been pets, egg-layers, and bug eaters up till now.

 

[savingdogs]

Stray away, I find all of this interesting!

I'm still thinking about going to the library for french cookbooks.....tonight we are having teriyaki duck. Not very original but we had it before and it turned out great! As I said you really can't go wrong with these breasts.

 

[ORChick]

Duck confit is really good; I have some in the 'fridge right now (duck from the butcher though ). I make mine in the slow cooker, and do it outside, as DH doesn't like the smell of poultry cooking. The fat, after the cooking is done, is just used to seal the meat from the air. When you want to eat some meat you can put the whole pot in a low oven, just to melt some of the fat, and then pull out the pieces you want (Smooth the fat back over any remaining pieces to seal again). Let the extra fat drain off, or wipe the meat down to remove more of it, and then heat and crisp the meat in a hot skillet - either in the remailning fat, or use a different fat. After this the meat really isn't fatty. I usually serve this with homemade noodles, and whatever veg. is looking good - though red cabbage with apples would go particularly well I think. I reserve the breasts for something else - as mentioned, there is always something to be done with the breast - but then cut the rest into manageable pieces - drumsticks, thighs (or both together if not large), wings, back in 2 pieces, and the neck - and do all of these for the confit. The bony bits aren't too good for straight eating, but they add nice flavor if added to a pot of beans (for example). Once you have finished eating the confit you can re-use the flavored fat - for another duck, or chicken, or rabbit. And I know you said you don't like the fat, but for those who do it is excellent for things like sauteed potatoes . And, of course, the whole idea behind the confit originally was for preservation - the duck in my 'fridge was actually cooked about 6 weeks ago, and has been lying happily encased in fat since then.