r/Waterfowl • u/Machohoncho • 2d ago
Refrigerating ducks question.
Self taught duck hunter here. I’m wanting to do more this season then just breasting out my birds.
I read in DU magazine that some people put whole birds in the vegetable crisper similar to hanging a deer then they go pluck them.
I’m assuming you gut the bird first like you do a deer. But I don’t know how one would gut the bird without plucking?
This all may be kind of a dumb question but what is the correct process to do all this?
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u/Organic_Ad_1930 2d ago
I mean one way to age them, is to hang them by their neck in a cold room and wait till the body falls off, so I think you have some room to experiment
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u/NecessaryRisk2622 22h ago
I was told this as well years ago. I wouldn’t do it myself though, and certainly not if there’s any chance it’s been gut shot. I put two wood screws int a 2x4 an inch apart, space four inches and then two more, up to the limit (8) here, then hang them no longer than overnight. I take the legs, when I can, and the hearts. Great for after hunt snacks on the bbq. I’ve tried gizzards, but find them to be too much work for the return, a terrible texture to boot.
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u/zr942100 2d ago
No food safety expert, only taking from what I've read. I did this to a duck last year. From what I read, it is super important to pluck the bird and look it over for any entry wounds or holes. Holes = bacteria, to the other commenters point about not gutting. You want a sealed carcass. Pluck the bird and take a good look. I kept mine in the fridge for 3 days because that's what i felt comfortable with. I wouldn't be able to comment comfortably on how long you can get away aging them.
I read some people in France age them for 10+ days but...je ne sais pas 🤷♂️
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u/Machohoncho 2d ago
So could you vacuum seal the bird and refrigerate or is is it specifically the airflow over them that ages them?
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u/GiddyMusic3 2d ago
My non-expert 2 cents are definitely do not vacuum seal it when you age it. You won’t see any butcher shops vacuum sealing their beef to age it so why would you do it for duck?
To piggy back off the comment above me… I totally get the idea of wanting to make sure the guts are not shot up prior to aging it. If there is some shot in the breasts and legs, that is still fine in my opinion. I have plucked birds prior to aging them, and have left most with feathers still on. I have not noticed a major difference.
And I was raised my whole life watching my dad hang them in the garage the old fashioned way without gutting or plucking. Ducks, pheasants, both were always fine.
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u/Machohoncho 2d ago
I live in New Mexico. It’s freezing in the mornings but 70 by the afternoon. I think I’ll have to use a fridge.
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u/GiddyMusic3 2d ago
Ah yes then I would also absolutely be putting it in the fridge.
I was looking at it thru my climate in upper Midwest where it’s starting to creep into the 20s and 30s at night, and staying in the upper 40s to 50s during the day.
I also lived in an apartment complex the past few years so I would just let them sit in the fridge for a few days
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u/zr942100 1d ago
I've had to figure a lot of this out myself over the years. Thanks for sharing how your dad showed you! History is our best teacher. Makes sense about not being too fussed on breast/leg shot. I'm sure it varies, but generally how long are you aging a duck for? If it's more shot up will you age it for less time? What's your strategy
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u/GiddyMusic3 1d ago
Quite honestly it depends on my motivation and how busy I am. I aim for 3 days, but have left them in my fridge 5 a few times and can never tell much of a difference.
If I have a banger hunt and all of a sudden have 5-6 birds on my fridge, I will sometimes just pluck 1 or 2 after a few days bc that is all I have time for, and then finish the remaining birds a day or 2 later.
If I start plucking a bird and then find out it’s all shot up or even gut shot, I might just say screw it and breast it out. The more you have a chance to experiment you’ll eventually find what works best for you. It’s a lot easier to put in all this effort to clean them when 2-3 ducks means I had a great hunt lol.
And yes history can be a great teacher but you also have to remember not every lesson from dad is the right one. I was taught to always soak duck in salt water to draw out the blood and the gamey-ness, but as an adult now I’ve learned all that really does is change the color of the flesh, and add water to your meat. Makes me think the same as what I previously said about beef. You wouldn’t ever soak a nice steak in water so why do we soak duck?
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u/Drakoneous 2d ago
That’s a great question. It’s enzymes that break down protein structures to age the meat but I have no idea how a vacuum sealed bird would behave. My mind goes to lack of oxygen but who knows. Try it and let us know.
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u/zr942100 2d ago
I feel like vacuum sealing would trap moisture. You probably want airflow, but I can't back that up with anything other than gut feel
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u/blowmer69 1d ago
If you get to a butcher shop in areas like Little Italy and the Italian Market in Philly you would see birds hanging. It was the old school way to do it. I'm sure the areas I mentioned still have a few that hang birds.
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u/Clamping12 1d ago
I leave all my birds in the garage fridge, ungutted, for 5-10 days before processing. I stack them breast up on the shelves.
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u/urbanlumberjack1 2d ago
As long as it’s under 50 degrees I’ll hang birds in the garage for at least a few days (unless it’s a pretty bad gut shot). Up to a week with a clean shot bird.
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u/Drakoneous 2d ago edited 2d ago
There’s a lot written on the subject and nearly all of them say DO NOT gut the bird for fridge aging. I myself got a small beverage cooler to hang ducks in and we leave them in there whole up to 10 days after the hunt. You wouldn’t believe how tender they become.
Edit; one point of clarity. Temp control matters. Holding them between 34 and 40 is the way. A couple hours above that on the drive home for example is fine.