Got a woody lately?

[curtdiesel]

I have After a couple of weeks of nothing flying around it was nice to come home with a few birds again.

[Timberstalker]

Funny.
Looks like fun. Great lookin woody country for sure.

[jay.sharkbait]

I know this is a stupid question......................

How do Wood Ducks taste?

They nest close to the house and had always wondered

[JJB11B]

well I was gonna say "Yes" then I saw the pictures, now I see you were talking about ducks....I have not since last year...

[RadSav]

How do Wood Ducks taste?

About what you would imagine poop might taste like.  Pretty much just like all ducks   Cook with plenty of tarragon and butter so you don't have to taste too much of the poopy duck.

[lokidog]

How do Wood Ducks taste?

About what you would imagine poop might taste like.  Pretty much just like all ducks   Cook with plenty of tarragon and butter so you don't have to taste too much of the poopy duck.

Just ignore him, he's just upset he can't brag about his woody....   

They taste really good.  The ones I've gotten actually are milder tasting than most ducks IMO.

[BOWHUNTER45]

the only way I eat duck is after I breast them and soak them in vinegar water for about 3 days  changing the water everyday until the 3 days are up ...then into a heavy brine and into my smoker for jerky ...other than that ...feed them to a cat 

[lokidog]

the only way I eat duck is after I breast them and soak them in vinegar water for about 3 days  changing the water everyday until the 3 days are up ...then into a heavy brine and into my smoker for jerky ...other than that ...feed them to a cat 

If you have to do this, why bother?  Just shoot some neighborhood cats or skin some mice and enjoy, they'd probably taste the same.   

[BOWHUNTER45]

I remember when I 1st came out to this country ...a lot of avid duck hunters in Anacortes ...hunted with most of them ...one tells me to come over for dinner ...we are having REMINGTON MALLARD     Sounds good to me ....  then I tasted it  3 x .... All but they loved it .... my brother law came up from Cali a few years back ... he tried to tell me the same thing ...if I make it your love it    He cooked it in a crock pot all day in Lipton Onion Soup or something like that ...that was a little better than the Remington Mallard recipe ...

[Boss .300 winmag]

Mmmmmm duck boobies are great, never had woodie breast though!   

[steve04]

I cooked up some wigeon breast for breakfast and it was really good. I don't get why people say duck tastes like crap. Do different species taste different?

[lokidog]

Yes they do.  Depending on their diet, even the same species can taste different.  Ducks that eat grains and greens are usually more mild than ones that eat snails and fish.

Many years ago in Coos Bay, I duck hunted.  For the first two weeks, the widgeon were really good, then suddenly they got nasty and bitter tasting.  I figured it must have had to do with their diet in the area and I stopped shooting widgeon.  About six years later, I was back in the area and had the same change in flavor happen a couple weeks into the season.

Last night we had teal breast kabobs that I marinated in italian dressing after cutting in half lengthways.   

[carlyoungs]

Those are some beautiful looking birds.

[aaronoto]

Nice!  I had a woody locked in on my deeks this last weekend, it flared off when some guys on the other side of the lake started blasting away though...

I think they taste great, I would agree on the milder flavor.

[RadSav]

Just ignore him, he's just upset he can't brag about his woody....   

They taste really good.  The ones I've gotten actually are milder tasting than most ducks IMO.

   They do taste better than raccoon!  I actually don't mind duck if prepared correctly.  But to do so takes a lot of time and effort.  Farm raised duck and those from the Midwest are quite tasty.  But, I gave up shooting duck around here some time ago.  Just took too much to get them tasting decent.

I've eaten a fare amount of wood ducks even though I have never shot one myself.  Our neighbor hated eating them and he'd bring them over.  Best way I had found was to pound them good and flat, put a slab of tarragon butter in the middle and wrap them over, dust with flower, roll in beaten egg, then in saltine cracker crumbs and fry them in bacon grease.  They are good that way.  Even better when served cold.

Everything tastes good if cooked in bacon grease and butter!

[Fishnclifff]

Soak em overnight in pineapple juice or orange juice and cook em any way you want.
They taste much better.

[rasbo]

cool ducks,I would like to get a woody...good recipe for them here,,,stuff the duck with onion apples and sausage,cook for an hr in the oven,when the temp reaches 165 remove the ducks from the oven...Take out the stuffing and throw away the duck,

[BOWHUNTER45]

I cooked up some wigeon breast for breakfast and it was really good. I don't get why people say duck tastes like crap. Do different species taste different?

Eastside birds may taste better ...A lot of our birds sit on the bay all day pecking around in the stinky coastal mud ....this maybe why they taste like sheeeeet ....

[lokidog]

I cooked up some wigeon breast for breakfast and it was really good. I don't get why people say duck tastes like crap. Do different species taste different?

Eastside birds may taste better ...A lot of our birds sit on the bay all day pecking around in the stinky coastal mud ....this maybe why they taste like sheeeeet ....

That was my experience in Coos Bay, i think the widgeon started to taste like eel grass or something else nasty that they were eating since the early birds seemed to taste fine.  Though, the mallards still tasted fine through the season.   

[Bullkllr]

I like duck.

But even mallards can be caught eating the wrong thing. On the Puyallup this year there were flocks of mallards that would fly in, eat as many fish guts as they could find, then fly off to the next spot. They went after those guts like they were candy. Can't imagine that doing much for their taste. Now a nice grain fed mallard on the other hand

[MC37493]

Duck is some of my favorite meat, you do occassionally get some bad birds though like Bullkllr and others were saying. All the woodies i have had have been delicious though.

Bowhunter i agree those east side birds can taste better sometimes!

[KopperBuck]

Know where a few are..



We have mostly grain fed birds here, some corn. I make jerky and no one can tell any different. Hell, I took a bunch elk hunting next weekend without telling anyone what it was, not a word from anyone. Told them it was duck and they looked at me like I told them it was Samsquantch.

[LeftCoastLoren]

all my duck meat goes into a big batch of pepperoni. It's the only way to go

[lokidog]

Know where a few are..



We have mostly grain fed birds here, some corn. I make jerky and no one can tell any different. Hell, I took a bunch elk hunting next weekend without telling anyone what it was, not a word from anyone. Told them it was duck and they looked at me like I told them it was Samsquantch.

Before moving to the West Coast, the majority of my ducks were woodies.  I know where a lot hang out as well, at least until the first freezes, but it's a boat trip and three hour drive away now.   

[jackmaster]

How do Wood Ducks taste?

About what you would imagine poop might taste like.  Pretty much just like all ducks   Cook with plenty of tarragon and butter so you don't have to taste too much of the poopy duck.

and wrap with bacon and onion and garlic, and thyme, and rosemary, and cinnamon and pepper and salt and johnnys and soak in worcestore sauce, inject with soy and terriyaki and deep fry in bacon grease and it might be worth eatn  good luck with that duck dude   

[SquirrelHunter]

Got my first woodie opening day in montana, hes going on the wall

[JMTaylor]

I'm from Iowa. Alot of my ducks I killed were woodies. They are by far my favorite tasting bird. Their diet isn't like most other ducks, I've watched them walk on to the bank to eat acorns 20 yards into the woods.

[SquirrelHunter]

I'm from Iowa.

What part of Iowa you from?

[curtdiesel]

I have my wife cook up most of my ducks into Pasole and Tamales.  They are awesome that way.  The wood ducks are considered better than most.  These ones had been eating corn and were great.  Even the Blue bills, golden eye, and ring necks that I bring home taste great when my wife cooks them up with Guajillo chiles.  It blows my friends minds when I tell them we are eating "crap ducks" their description of anything other than a mallard not mine.

[Brad Harshman]

the only way I eat duck is after I breast them and soak them in vinegar water for about 3 days  changing the water everyday until the 3 days are up ...then into a heavy brine and into my smoker for jerky ...other than that ...feed them to a cat 

Then you shouldn't be hunting them.  Just saying...

[270Shooter]

Id much rather eat wood ducks or teal than a mallard any day.

[SquirrelHunter]

Just picked up my first in western washington, another wall hanger