Free: Contests & Raffles.
They are pretty birds. Had three hen Hooded Mergs swim by but held off hoping for the darn geese.
Oh yeah, Merg count = 5Last year, toward the end of the season I saw one flock that had over 300 birds in it. A few years ago, I counted as a flock swam past the dock, 96. I agree Duckmen1, they are one of the tougher ones to clean (skin), and you would think from their size that they would have more breast meat on them. The bonus though, is that their legs are huge. I do a slow cooked pile of legs with an apple onion curry, better than any buffalo wings I've had.Salsbury Duck (base recipe is from www.foodnetwork.com)-1 1/2 lb meat (duck, beef, venison, etc.) ground. I used the fine grinding plate this time but wil try the more coarse one next time, it seemed a bit pasty textured but I rarely do this with fresh, still warm duck, soi maybe that's the difference. I had 1.3 pounds of clean breast meat from the four mergs tonight)-1/2 c + 2 T seasoned breadcrumbs-1 T ketchup-2 t dry mustard-1/2 t pepper-1 1/2 t onion powder-1/2 t garlic powder-6 dashes worchestershire sauce-1 cube (crumbled) or 1 t beef boullion, maybe a little extraCombine all ingredients, mix well. Form 6 to 8 patties about 1/2 inch thick. Lay both sides into a shallow dish of flour to lightly coat. Flour may be seasoned. I then set this aside until everything else is pretty much ready. If you like fried onions, get them cooking in olive or canola oil until they just about reach desired brownness. Scrape to the sides of the pan, add a tablespoon of butter, melt evenly, place patties into oil/butter on medium high heat, fry and flip until done to your tastes.Easy gravy is thickened Au Jus sauce from a pack, or brown gravy. Here is the gravy recipe that comes with the "steak" one.- 1 whole onion, thinly sliced or diced- 2 cups beef broth-1 T ketchup-4 dashes Worcestershire sauce- 1 1/2 to 2 t cornstarch to thicken as desired.salt and pepper to tasteThey say to cook the gravy in the fry pan after you are done with the steaks. Personally, I like my steak still warm when the gravy is done, so I use a different pan. On medium heat, add onions to a small amount of oil (1 T), cook until golden brown and soft. Add the stock, ketchup, Worcestershire, and salt and pepper. Combine corn starch with some extra cold broth or water, less than a quarter cup is fine. Whisk into hot gravy to thicken, stir constantly, remove from heat when thick.There you go. Even my wife, who is sensitive to strong flavored meat, likes this one. Now to go pull the legs and giblets....
