Seaduck Surprise

uplandbirddog

Did some seaduck and diver hunting on the Chesapeake Bay this past weekend. Everything I read online said these birds were hardly worth eating, but I'm not a fan of killing for sport so I was determined to come up with a solid recipe for them. I was thinking some sort of hearty stew to mask the apparent fishy flavor, but before I went through with the recipe I trimmed the orange fat off a breast, salt and peppered that bad boy and threw it on the grill until medium rare to see what I was working with flavor-wise. Boy that duck was **** good. Tasted just like any other wild duck I've had. Brined out the rest of the breasts in whole milk for approx 3 hours, trimmed all the orange fat, marinated in red wine, garlic, and soy for an hour or two and grilled them all medium rare. Served with a port wine reduction sauce, mashed potatoes, and brussel sprouts for Thanksgiving dinner. My friends who never tried wild duck loved it. The next day I brined and marinated the thighs the same way and slow cooked them in a pot with water, chicken stock, onions, garlic, red wine, and tomato sauce and shredded all the meat off the bones after a few hours. Served with corn tortillas and a little cheese and sheeeesh was that good too. You could barely tell it wasn't beef. One of the most underrated birds I've ever had the honor to harvest and eat. 

smooth move

good job. i've always heard the same about divers.