Canvasbacks are not very common down here, but a very welcome addition to the bag. This is only the second one I've taken.
(http://i567.photobucket.com/albums/ss114/mpdesja/IMG_0078_med.jpg)
The fillets.
(http://i567.photobucket.com/albums/ss114/mpdesja/IMG_0080_med.jpg)
The reward. Perhaps the best eating duck I've ever had. Recipe from "Duck, Duck, Goose", by Hank Shaw.
(http://i567.photobucket.com/albums/ss114/mpdesja/IMG_0082_med.jpg)
She always gets a share of any birds we take, but does get impatient.
(http://i567.photobucket.com/albums/ss114/mpdesja/IMG_0083_med.jpg)
Very nice!!! Congrats!!!
Great pics and hunt!!
God Bless,
David B.
Love the Citori as a duck hunting weapon!
Really nice job on the pluck and filet,looks fantastic. You understand the secret of great fowl, not one degree past medium rare! Nicely done.
Quote from: spaightlabs on January 05, 2014, 01:40:48 AM
You understand the secret of great fowl, not one degree past medium rare! Nicely done.
I guess I would have ruined him!! I'd of cooked all that red out of him...... :TooFunny: :TooFunny:
Nice ,,, Dog looks hungry :lol:
Great pictures.. Thanks for sharing them..
Awesome!! :icon_thumright: Great pic!
Your duck is still raw. Not medium, raw. I would have fed it to the dog.
Delicious! I've never tried to eat canvas back but would say teal is the best tasting duck I've enjoyed.
Quote from: HogBiologist on January 05, 2014, 03:47:42 PM
Your duck is still raw. Not medium, raw. I would have fed it to the dog.
I bet you've never had anyone ask you to make them ducks second time. You cook it past that, I.e., medium rare, and it is tough and tastes like liver.
Quote from: spaightlabs on January 05, 2014, 01:40:48 AM
You understand the secret of great fowl, not one degree past medium rare! Nicely done.
Yep!!
I'm assuming that you don't have any health risks with waterfowl like you do with chicken or turkey?
Thanks for the comments guys.
spaightlabs, yes, to my taste they go downhill fast after this point. Tricky to get just right. Easier for me to do in the pan than in the oven. My lab is out of Bearpoint kennels in Colorado. Do you know them?
HogBiologist, the core temp on the breast was 130 degrees when it came off the pan. Then it coasted into the medium rare range. Raw would be a dark purple.
Shellwaster, of the ducks we routinely get, I would put teal at the very top, followed by pintail. At that level it comes down to the individual bird and its diet.
M,Yingling, she has mastered that hungry look and has finagled more than one second dinner.
Deputy 14, much lower risk of anything bad than domestic meat, red or white, and more like a good lean steak than a chicken.
The health risks with chicken and turkey are limited to animals that are processed poorly and potentially contaminated the E. coli and fecal coliform. Other than killing those off there is no reason to over cook food.
I do know Dale and Brenda, great, I mean GREAT people and they have very nice pups - you chose your hunting partner wisely. They are gracious enough to let some local retriever clubs use their property for training at times and we have availed ourselves of that opportunity - their place is spectacular.
Have fun with the dog, and hope you get a few more of those bull cans; as you point out, best eating fowl out there. Anyone says different is a commie, and probably ovevcooked it....
I've been to their place. Awesome setting for lab breeders. I will look to Dale and Brenda with full confidence for our next dog. There was a retriever club there one time I visited, working on one of the back fields, over by the big pond. Funny if that was your group. She's a litter mate to one of Kevin Eskam's dogs (Star), if you know him.
I do know Kevin and I would about bet we were in the group traing at the pond, that's where we always go. Small world indeed.
cool and looks delicious
Canvasbacks are trophies in my part of the marsh too. Congrats!!!
Canvasbacks are trophies everywhere. We've been blessed with a great number of them on the chesapeake this year. I love the 2 bird limit when the bird numbers are good to go with it. Just wish the health of the bay was better to keep them around and feeding on celery. They are so much better eating on the celery beds.
These are one of my favorite ducks to shoot. I painted a bunch of Flambeau mallard decoys into canvasbacks and they worked like a charm on large flocks of these things.
Could tyou also tell me which recepie this is? I have the book as well. Neat one at that! Which page are you looking at?
Congrats on aawesome trophy. I haven't duck hunted in years, but when I did I always wanted a Canvasback.
We get them here in Grosse Ile Michigan, one of the larger fly ways in the US. All sorts of birds! If you ain't a duck hunter here in my home town, then you are married to one OR gave birth to one!
Looks like they ate up good...
I've got to admit there is not a duck out there I care to eat but I've never had it liek that and have to admit that looks darn good.
Outstanding pics!!
J-P 360, I followed the "Duck Breast with Black Currant Sauce", page 66. The only variation I made was to use the full fillet, as opposed to just the breast. I made the sauce too and it was awesome with the duck. It's a fantastic cookbook for duck hunters. Hank is a hunter himself, used to hang out on Duck Hunting Chat in his early days.
Here's a link to Hank Shaw's blog (Hunter Angler Gardener Cook) if anyone is interested. Tons of recipes there for all sorts of game. I've made many of his sausage recipes and they've all turned out well.
http://honest-food.net/ (http://honest-food.net/)
Slamman, I hope you get the chance to have a wild duck, of a good species, cooked right. It is one of the finest meats out there. Cooked too much and it gets to yuck real fast.
congrats on an awesome duck and dog ive never duck hunted but i wanna go some day
That looks AWESOME! Please give details on preparation
That looks AWESOME! Please give details on preparation
Disregard I missed the info on cooking :) it was on the second page
Quote from: Rapscallion Vermilion on January 16, 2014, 11:01:56 PM
J-P 360, I followed the "Duck Breast with Black Currant Sauce", page 66. The only variation I made was to use the full fillet, as opposed to just the breast. I made the sauce too and it was awesome with the duck. It's a fantastic cookbook for duck hunters. Hank is a hunter himself, used to hang out on Duck Hunting Chat in his early days.
Here's a link to Hank Shaw's blog (Hunter Angler Gardener Cook) if anyone is interested. Tons of recipes there for all sorts of game. I've made many of his sausage recipes and they've all turned out well.
http://honest-food.net/ (http://honest-food.net/)
Slamman, I hope you get the chance to have a wild duck, of a good species, cooked right. It is one of the finest meats out there. Cooked too much and it gets to yuck real fast.
Glad to see someone else is following Hank's guidance. He has opened my eyes. I did the currant recipe(BlackBerry version) and the bigarade. Sooooooo good. I can't remember if it's in the book, but he has a recipe specifically for canvasback in his blog. Sadly, haven't had a chance to use it. I have to confess that I haven't gotten mine as perfect as you did. I've just been searing my breasts and have been saving the legs to try confit. The breast meat was still amazing with no bad flavor, even in skinned bluebill.
I can't stop looking at that photo! Looking forward to duplicating it after tomorrows hunt!