hanging your ducks

[CSG]

Just wondering how long you guys hang your ducks for?? do you gut them first?? I have heard somewherew in the 3 day range with the guts in and then pluck and dress.

any thoughts?

[mattchu_19]

hang them till their heads fall off

[dougan]

hang them till their heads fall off
hehehehhahahah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Steelpulse]

I hang them for up to three or four days depending on when i'm leaving hunting camp

[Ddog]

in old times, ducks and pheasants would be hung from their heads until they would start to tear away and fall off. i have never tried this nor would i want to.
i was always told to age the meat at least a little bit, however, i once read an article that made me think differently.
after shooting your ducks and geese, it said, try to clean them a s soon as possible and then age the meat in the fridge for up to 10 days if you like, the fridge being a perfect temperature.
the reason for it was just in case a shot punctures any internal organ it could leak into the meat making it spoil rather fast. I have had ducks hanging for a few days because i could not clean them as soon as i wanted and i see what they meant.
i do clean them now as soon as i can, i have not noticed any difference in the flavour at all.
cheers...D

[heyblast]

My father and uncles would hang ducks for days before cleaning. Never thought it a good idea. I clean mine as soon as I can then store them in the fridge for 7 to 10 days. A much safer way to age the meat.

[bopper]

Yes, my dad used to hang ducks for about a week or more (if the temperature was right)....but I'm old and lazy, and can't see any good reason to pluck ducks......try this great recipe, it's the Filet Mignon of duck!
Make one incision down the breastbone. Peel the skin away, remove the two breasts. Marinate them overnight in a mixture of soya sauce, garlic, onions, any other spices you wish. Next day, take them out of the marinade, and marinade them for two more hours in ginger ale. (not diet, just regular ginger ale). Fasten some bacon strips around them with toothpicks, and barbecue (rare is best). Great eating, and no fuss & muss!
If you wish, you can stuff the discarded carcasses with a chunk of styrofoam, fasten with duct tape, and use them for training your retrievers....

[Qwa-honn]

I clean right away and then give at least a day in the fridge. I try to let them sit a couple of days in the fridge..... if the wife don't need the space and then freeze.

[Mr. Dean]

I fillet out the breasts and jerk the legs off asap. I then 'age' for 2 or 3 days (3 seems better) in the cool-a-tron.

[garyp]

A shot bird is will likely have punctured innards which leads to contamination. It really depends where and what the bird has been eating. Since it is wild you don't know.

We run a very small chicken operation. Most of the processing directions suggest letting a cleaned processed bird rest with a core temp of 40F for 48 hours before eating or freezing for a tastier and more tender meal.

[weatherby_man]

Shoot em, bring em home, breast em, salt water brine em, rinse em, put em in the fridge. Then portion pack and freeze the next day or two. Has worked well for me and all the duck I ate this past year were wonderful.

[CSG]

I am a chef by trade, so I understand the thoughts behind all the ideas posted, I have just never cooked wild game.

the hanging part is done to improve the flavour of your meat, the chemical reaction of the enzymes decomposing the meat creates more flavour, like when you find an animal that has been dead for a week, it stinks, the same thing is happening when you hang but in a controlled environment and at alot slower rate. controlled decomposition.

the brining of the meat is done to impart more flavour in to the meat and make it juicier. the salt and flavourings you add to the brine will find their way into the meat and stay there when you pull it out. there is nothing in a brine to break down the meat to make it more tender. things like vinegar or citrus juice would break it down though. I would put citrus in my brine but probably not vinegar. there is a chance that if left too long in the brine the vinegar will slowly cook your meat.

aging meat is really done to tenderize it. that is why it is done with wild game that has been running/flying its whole life. the muscles are worked alot and are tough when cooked. also, if you are eating wild game then the animal is probably old and this compounds the toughness of the meat. we age beef because it is usually slaughtered at 1 to 1 1/2 years. chickens, pigs, lambs are all slaughtered young (less than a year) so they dont really require hanging however they will benefit from it.

[branthunter]

Birds hung uncleaned will go bad in 1 day in the warmer weather if they've been gut shot, longer once it gets colder. Your best bet is to gut them the day you shoot them ( the biggest hurdle to this action being that when you get in late who feels like doing that after getting all your gear and gun sorted out), sprinkle a little salt into the gut cavity, and then put them on ice in a cooler. The contact with the ice cools them rapidly and then they will keep that way for many days until you get to finishing them in whatever way suites you. I breast and take the legs of most of my birds but since my Peace River adventures this year am resolved to pluck more of those big fat pea fed honkers..That's the best way but, on the other hand, I confess that I mostly just hang them and do them as soon as I can get to it, that being quicker in the early season due to the warmer weather, but often enough for several days later in the season once temperatures drop.

[870]

Shoot em, bring em home, breast em, salt water brine em, rinse em, put em in the fridge. Then portion pack and freeze the next day or two. Has worked well for me and all the duck I ate this past year were wonderful.


yep. that's what works best for me.