Swans

[slyfox]

Well i have been hunting waterfowl in the lowermainland for about 16 years and every year there are more and more swans just wounder if anyone knows the numbers of the birds in the area and if it was ever open to hunting them and if there was a hunting season for them would you hunt them.

[hunter1947]

I would hunt them if there was to many of them and they needed them thinned out.

[Crazy_Farmer]

BUT would you eat one?

Well you sortof have two choices. Shoot a real old big white one, and get it mounted. Or shoot a young grey one, they're supposed to be the only ones that taste good.

Problem here though is the vast majority of swans are trumpeters which are protected and they cant be shot anywhere in NA. But tundras are the speices that can be hunted. We do have a few here, I'd say its about a 10-1 trumpeter to tundra average in our fields so the gov would definitely need to offer a course to learn the difference between the two types.

[sneg]

I would not hunt them. Too easy.

[CanuckShooter]

No I would never hunt them, right up there with sandhill cranes/doves/squirrels/and samsqwuatches...

[870]

small discussion on this already
http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=28135

[sawmill]

No I would never hunt them, right up there with sandhill cranes/doves/squirrels/and samsqwuatches...
I hear they taste a lot like Bald Eagles.
I would shoot a sasquatch though.That would make me the worlds foremost expert on them ,plus a millionair as well.
Then I could hire guys to bring me swans for my cookouts.:biggrin:

[Iron-Head]

Well you sortof have two choices. Shoot a real old big white one, and get it mounted. Or shoot a young grey one, they're supposed to be the only ones that taste good.

Problem here though is the vast majority of swans are trumpeters which are protected and they cant be shot anywhere in NA. But tundras are the speices that can be hunted. We do have a few here, I'd say its about a 10-1 trumpeter to tundra average in our fields so the gov would definitely need to offer a course to learn the difference between the two types.
Correct me if I am wrong but I believe it is the Mute swan that is the invasiv speceis.

[870]

I hear they taste a lot like Bald Eagles.
I would shoot a sasquatch though.That would make me the worlds foremost expert on them ,plus a millionair as well.
Then I could hire guys to bring me swans for my cookouts.:biggrin:

thats awesome.

[Gateholio]

For to prepare a swan. Take & undo him & wash him, & do on a spit & lard him fair & roast him well; & dismember him on the best manner & make a fair carving, & the sauce thereto shall be made in this manner, & it is called:

Chaudon. Take the issue of the swan & wash it well, & scour the guts well with salt, & boil the issue all together til it be enough, & then take it up and wash it well & hew it small, & take bread & powder of ginger & of galingale & grind together & temper it with the broth, & color it with the blood. And when it is boiled & ground & strained, salt it, & boil it well together in a small pot & season it with a little vinegar.

INGREDIENTS:

1 swan (see note)
Olive oil (see note)
DIRECTIONS:
With your hands or a pastry brush, coat the entire outside of a cleaned & gutted swan (being sure to reserve the giblets for the Chaudon sauce) with olive oil. Roast on either a spit or in an oven. (A modern rotisserie may be the closest many of us will be able to come to actual spit roasting, but if that is not possible, an oven will do the job as well.) Roast until done, basting often with broth or drippings. Carve into serving pieces and serve with Chaudon sauce.

Chaudon Sauce:

Swan giblets
Salt
Broth
Unseasoned toasted breadcrumbs (see note)
Ginger
Galingale
Red Wine Vinegar
Wash the blood from the giblets, and while still wet, sprinkle with a little salt. Place in a pot, cover with water and boil until done. Remove, drain, & cool. Chop the giblets into small pieces; place giblets and the broth, spices, & breadcrumbs in a food processor (or any equivalent device) and combine into a smooth gravy-like sauce. Strain if necessary. Place in a sauceboat, add salt if necessary, and bring to a soft boil. Reduce heat to a simmer & add a little vinegar for a slight tartness. Serve with the roasted swan.
What?!? No swan at your local market? In case such a fate does befall you, any large waterfowl will do, such as a goose. However, this is one of the few times when a turkey may be considered for a medieval feast; as a substitute for swan, it really is the closest bird in size that most of us will be able to find. Turkeys were not introduced into Europe until well after 1500 and for medieval feasts they are quite terribly inappropriate, but for late Renaissance or Elizabethan feasts, they are acceptable. (See An Elizabethan Dinner Conversation, where the master of the house proclaims, "Cut that turkeycock in pieces, but let it be cold, for it is better cold than hot.") But, when needing to recreate a medieval dish featuring swan, the modern cook may turn to turkey as the cheapest and most easily accessible substitute. Keep in mind, though, that any large bird will also do, so use turkey only when you're not able to obtain a goose, duck, or even a large capon.

Galingale, a spice made from the root of the Cypress tree, is often found in stores that sell Asian or Indian foods. You may substitute by adding a little white pepper to the ginger.

The medieval cook was faced with a culinary paradox when "dihyting," or preparing, a swan. As a waterfowl, its nature was moist and wet, and therefore needed to be roasted to counteract those qualities. However, swans (despite their humoural properties) are notoriously dry & tough, and roasting only exacerbates this condition. The solution was therefore to add a moistening agent to the swan, hence the larding. The modern cook may not be comfortable with this procedure, so applying a coat of olive oil to the bird before roasting and keeping it well basted will effectively serve the same purpose.

Modern poultry is somewhat "cleaner" and is slaughtered more hygienically than medieval fowl; scouring the guts with salt may have been necessary then, but is probably not so now, and only increases the amount of what is now known to be unhealthy ingredient when used in excess.

Interestingly, the toasted breadcrumbs serve as a substitute for blood! In the Utilis Coquinario recipe which follows the swan & Chauden receipts, we find a heron prepared "as is þe swan" with its sauce "made of hym as a chaudon of gynger & of galyngale, & þat it be coloured with þe blood or with brende crustes þat arn tosted." See: Heyroun.

[Mr. Dean]

Heron..... The alternate to Swan. :rolleyes: :smile:

[rishu_pepper]

I hear they taste a lot like Bald Eagles.
I would shoot a sasquatch though.That would make me the worlds foremost expert on them ,plus a millionair as well.
Then I could hire guys to bring me swans for my cookouts.:biggrin:

I hear Pemberton has a 1-bag limit on samsquatch. In this time of year, they are usually outfitted with a winter coat that resembles a chef's outfit. :biggrin:

[Crazy_Farmer]

Correct me if I am wrong but I believe it is the Mute swan that is the invasiv speceis.

You are very right. The Mute Swans are considered an invasive and introduced species, I know of around 4-5 states that you can openingly shoot them. None of them have seasons just a little note talking about there. They're pretty easy to pick out as you just need to see the orange on the bill which is unlike the tundras or trumpeters here. They seem to do alot of damage to refuges. Very protective of their area and will push alot of other waterfowl out, aswell as eat their way through the marsh and ruin the habitat.

I'm not to sure on the numbers here but thats something to think about if there is a few around or you know where some are if they arent just in a few city ponds, co's will most likely say no but you never know, just plead your case good enough :biggrin:

[Tank]

The Kiwi's are the pro's on this topic. They have regular organized swan culls...often involving dozens of boats and hundreds of shooters. TOP PREDATOR has sent over some amazing footage of these culls. They don't seem to have any issues shooting down these birds by the boat load......not sure if they eat them though:?

[hunter1947]

BUT would you eat one?

I always eat what I shoot even if I did not like it http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon12.gif.

[Legi0n]

I always eat what I shoot even if I did not like it http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon12.gif.

I'll go ahead and assume you're not a target shooter :mrgreen:

[muzzy]

Beautiful white meat, shoot one and try it!! You'll love it..Also lots of neck meat should you want to make soup..

[Chuck]

They've never been all that common in the Columbia River valley around Castlegar, but theyre moving in now, the Herons are moving out - I don't think herons were native here anyway. At least they were never seen here back in the 50's. Anyone know how many can be fed on one Swan?