Processing party! update, we processed today.

[ticks]

I think time has run out fro my killer Rouen drakes and my (now hobobrando's) rooster. I'm thinking about killing them on Sunday, with Brandond (hopefully) What are your thouhts? Also, how do you process?
like the whole water/feather thing.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Skin them--it is much easier! Just a sidenote--I have never done domestic ducks--just the ones we hunt (or that is-the ones hubby hunts)

 

[ticks]

Skin them--it is much easier! Just a sidenote--I have never done domestic ducks--just the ones we hunt (or that is-the ones hubby hunts)

Thank you! Do you mean just the breast meat? I think I can get a few pounds off these guys. They are much bigger than the ducks I have shot.

 

[patandchickens]

It seems a shame to waste all that tasty potentially-crispy skin... but it *is* a bit faster, maybe a lot faster for ducks (I've never done a duck but I gather they're more harder to pluck than chickens b/c of the down)

If you do skin them, don't just cut the breast and thigh meat off and discard the rest: simmer up the carcass (simmer, not boil) to get yummy soup stock plus can pick off LOTSA little bits of meat for soup, sandwiches, potpie, etc.

For the rooster (again, I have zero duck experience) I have had better luck dry-picking than scalding, but I may not have had the water quite hot enough. Dry picking has worked fine for me thus far, though. Make sure not to over-scald such that the skin cooks and becomes easy to rip. Or of course you can skin the rooster, which may make sense as it may be old enough that you're not going to cook it in any mode that will provide yummy skin *anyhow*.

Have fun, bon appetit,

Pat

 

[ticks]

It seems a shame to waste all that tasty potentially-crispy skin... but it *is* a bit faster, maybe a lot faster for ducks (I've never done a duck but I gather they're more harder to pluck than chickens b/c of the down)

If you do skin them, don't just cut the breast and thigh meat off and discard the rest: simmer up the carcass (simmer, not boil) to get yummy soup stock plus can pick off LOTSA little bits of meat for soup, sandwiches, potpie, etc.

For the rooster (again, I have zero duck experience) I have had better luck dry-picking than scalding, but I may not have had the water quite hot enough. Dry picking has worked fine for me thus far, though. Make sure not to over-scald such that the skin cooks and becomes easy to rip. Or of course you can skin the rooster, which may make sense as it may be old enough that you're not going to cook it in any mode that will provide yummy skin *anyhow*.

Have fun, bon appetit,

Pat

Thanks Pat.
and miss_thenorth

 

[hobobrando]

Eli, I had a better idea for that old tough rooster we can use him to lure some coyotes into range . Just kidding I think he will go in the crock pot.

 

[ticks]

Eli, I had a better idea for that old tough rooster we can use him to lure some coyotes into range . Just kidding I think he will go in the crock pot.

haha, So do you think we could get together on Sunday to kill these old homicidal birds?
Maybe a little pike fishin later?

 

[hobobrando]

Sounds good to me.

 

[ticks]

Sounds good to me.

Nice, will talk tomorrow at school about the details.
I think some duck stew is a must here.

 

[hobobrando]

I have latin day tomarrow but I think my moms onboard, one of my neighbors complained about the rooster.