Bay Area Duck Help

[Dbo]

I harvested 15 ducks and a Canada goose this year out of the Don Edwards preserve here in Santa Clara. I’m not from the Bay Area and the ducks here seem to taste a little differently. Almost every one no matter the species tastes a little like clams. Anyway it’s getting frustrating and it’s affecting my will to hunt. It’s still exciting getting out there but I’m just not excited to eat them as I used to be. Definitely not as excited as I would be with any deer or elk. Can anyone help these gross ducks be tasty again? I have a simple electric smoker due to nosy neighbors.

 

[BandCollector]

Wild game tastes differently from region to region dependent upon their diet. Deer, turkey, etc. in western Pennsylvania will taste slightly different from those found in other parts of the country. The same is true of ducks and geese.

Even though ducks and geese are migratory birds there are many waterfowl that choose not to migrate. They become regional birds (resident) because there is a food source to keep them in that particular area. If they have an ample food source they generally stay put.

I believe what you are experiencing is just that. You are not used to the taste of the waterfowl in Santa Clara. An unfamiliar taste that you have never experienced.

That being said the concept or wild game tasting different or "gamey" to those who do not hunt is nothing more than an unfamiliarity to something they have never eaten before or are used to.

If you never ate a chicken before and tasted it for the first time it would probably taste "gamey" to you.

You didn't specify if the birds you harvested were sea ducks or not. They defiantly taste different from a Mallard, Black Duck, Teal, or Wood Duck whoes diet mostly consists of grain.

Usually trying to mask the taste makes it worse. It's just a matter of getting used to the "different" taste. However, if you need recipes I would be happy to help.

I hope this helps,

John

 

[sawhorseray]

I lived in Redwood City about 45 years and had a duck blind out in the salt flats for a year a couple of different times for dog training. What you were getting most likely were a bunch of ruddy ducks and butter balls with the occasional sprig thrown in if you were near Moffit Field. They eat bugs and fish and pretty much taste like garbage, I'd just toss them. From the Bay Area you have to go north towards Sacto or south towards Los Banos to hunt the ducks that are eating grain on their migration down the Pacific Flyway. RAY

 

[WaterRat]

I can't help with the Bay area specifically but a good 1-2day soak in orange juice might do the trick - or not. Maybe as sawhorseray said they are just crap ducks - If they're eating out of the Bay for a long time - that's what they'll taste like.

 

[BandCollector]

They eat bugs and fish and pretty much taste like garbage, I'd just toss them.

This is why it is critical to fully understand the game you are hunting, become proficient in identifying your target, and consume what you hunt ( which I strongly believe is the reason for hunting in the first place).

What we don't need is more ammunition for the Anti-Hunting Community by throwing away game birds because they taste bad.

Sincerely,

John

 

[Teal101]

The one consistent thing with wild duck is that it will taste like crap!

 

[BandCollector]

The one consistent thing with wild duck is that it will taste like crap!

LOL!. . . . Not necessarily.

Depends on the duck/goose and how it is prepared.

John

 

[Teal101]

LOL!. . . . Not necessarily.

Depends on the duck/goose and how it is prepared.

John

I never did find a solid way to cook them as a meal so we just kept the meat frozen until the end of the season and had it all mixed 50/50 with pork and made into pepperoni sticks. They taste great then, but you could tell when you got a Merganser stick still haha. Grain fed Mallards to Buffleheads, they all went into sticks.

 

[sawhorseray]

These ducks live in the bay, they are not migratory waterfowl. I had a blind twice over the years out in the salt flats to train my dogs. I never paid a nickel, I'd just build the blind and tow it to the pond for the guy who managed the pond for Cargill Salt Co. There were a few times something like a sprig would get brought down that was worth plucking and eating, not often. The birds that live out there taste awful, we always gave the ones we downed to the Asian guys who were out there shooting mudhens and jack snipe, maybe they had some magic recipe, who knows. It's kind of like trying to eat a coyote. We killed a ton of them on a private ranch we leased for 20 years. No matter what you try to soak them in or how you try to cook them they are plain inedible. Believe me, we tried a number of times and ways, can't get it down your throat.

Oh, at low tide the bay stinks! The local birds smell pretty much like low tide. RAY

Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[BandCollector]

Oh, at low tide the bay stinks! The local birds smell pretty much like low tide. RAY

LOL!

The birds that live out there taste awful, we always gave the ones we downed to the Asian guys who were out there shooting mudhens and jack snipe, maybe they had some magic recipe, who knows.

At least you gave them to someone who was willing and able to use them. Very admirable, and, good for you guys!

John

 

[mtnlakeman]

I've found fishy ducks are impossible to convince yourself they taste good. Fingersteak, batter, deep fry and a horse radish dipping sauce can get a meal out of them.
Everything else into chorizo snack sticks and give to friends who like to drink beer.