Eating divers

J

Jon Zuccolo

Active member
So, first off, hello! I am a new member here, and it looks like a great forum. I am recently relocated to oklahoma, where I have started waterfowling this year. Its a great sport, wish I started doing it sooner!

Secondly, I was noticing that there are a lot of people on this forum that target seaducks and divers... I shot a bufflehead the other day, and althought it was edible, it was a pretty strong flavor, a bit too much flavor for my palette at this time.

Do you all eat the divers you shoot? Whats the way you prepare them? Do you prefer them over puddler ducks?

Jon
 
I eat all the ducks I shoot. If I am not going to eat it, I dont shoot it. Learned that a long time ago from my Dad.

Kinda hard to lump all divers together when it comes to taste. It all depends on which species it is and what they are eating.

Redheads and Canvasbacks in most area feed almost exclusively on submerged vegetation, as do ringneck ducks. To me they taste as good or better than any puddle duck out there. I tend to dry age them, brine them in a turkey brine (Google Alton Brown turkey brine), cover with bacon & roast.

Greater and Lesser Scaup feed on both vegetation and invertebrates, such as clams, copepods and snails. Some taste better than others. For the stronger ones, put them in curry, gumbo or other slow-cooked spicy recipes. Sure they dont taste like chicken but then they arent supposed too. For less strong ones, stir fry them rare. Or cut into strips, batter dip and deep fry. Then simmmer in brown gravy or eat the fried strips rare in the blind the next hunt.

Buffleheads and GE's eat almost exclusively invertebrates. They can be pretty strong, liver tassting. Once again, slow cook them in some sort of spicy stuff.

I have no experience with seaducks. But I am sure some other guys will pitch in.

The other option is to make jerky with all of them. cut into strips, marinate for 3-6 hours and put in the dehydrator. Good stuff.
 
Jon,

Welcome to the site! No doubt, Duckboats is one of the best sites on the web about waterfowling! Really neat mix of people here from all over the US and UK.

Divers are definitely edible. The difference in taste reflects the differences in diets between the species.

I've found one of the best ways to "tame" heavy gamey flavor is to cut the meat into smaller pieces and soak it for 24 hours in buttermilk. Rinse the meat very well afterward and it will definitely change the flavor for you. Be sure to either cook "hot and fast" and eat the meat medium rare. Or, go long.... Look for crock pot recipes and cook the meat for a long period and it will fall apart.

Again welcome, and congrats on getting into waterfowling. Terrible addiction with no cure...........

Best,
Steve
 
I tend to tell people who ask for duck breast that if they don't like med/rare meat then they have to soak it or use in a stew. I like to soak in cheap red wine for a few days in the fridge if I am preparring it for someone who doesn't like the gamey taste.

Duck breasts cooked too long and not soaked first tend to remind one of liver......At least that is my analogy...lol
 
Excellent point: Cooking wild duck breast is like cooking squid: Either cook it 1 minute (rare) or 1 hour (cook it long).
And most if not all recipes for domestic duck will not work with wild duck. Domestic duck has tons of fat on it, wild duck usually does not.
 
Welcome Jon,

Living on the east coast we get alot of divers and seaducks around here. I don't target Seaducks but will take Brant (Artic Goose) and some divers. I will usually breast them out, slice into 1/2" wide strips, marinade in a teriyaki glase for anywhere from 1 hour to 2 days depending on how strong the meat is. Then using bamboo shish-kabob skewers place meat, mushrooms, green pepper, cherry tomatoes, pinapple on skewers and wrap in bacon. Grill for several minutes on med to high heat. Dont over cook, they are best rare to med-rare. Then sit back and enjoy :)
 
Jon the secret to buffleheades and golden eyes ( I think) is to get ALL the blood out of the meat. I don't just soak them in salt water, I actually nead the meat under running water after I soak them. When no more blood is seen. merinade in your favorite bbq suase or itialian dressing, lay a strip of bacon on your cutting board, lay the breast half on the bacon, add a strip of sweet banna pepper on top. Roll it up from end to end and skewer wit a tooth pick and grill just till the beacon is done. I think you will find them rather tasty.
 
Welcome Jon. Generally, many people find divers & sea ducks less palatable than puddle ducks. However, they can be good if properly prepared. I have had them in a stir fry sweet & sour recipe which works well. I also marinate in brand for 3 or 4 days in the fridge then grind them and make an awsome chili.
 
Place the divers/sea ducks into a bowl.

Pour diet Pepsi overs the breast till completely covered plus 1/2 inch.

The cola & carbonation will begin working immediately, boiling out the blood & tenderizing the meat (can also be done with any strong/bloody game).

After (2) two hours, you can either skim off the blood & fat off the top or just dump it out & repeat the process as I do.

Don't go any longer than (4) four hours because the cola & carbonation with begin to severely breakdown the meat.

When done, you won't be able to tell diver from puddler.

I go (1) one step further with the divers.

After straining the breast, don't rinse.

Place the breast back into a clean bowl.

Pre-mix milk with Garlic powder & Paprika to taste.

Pour over top breasts.

Let stand over night in the fridge.

This also works great with Coot.

Had a pre-season party a couple of weeks back & the (30) thirty people there had no idea until I told them they were eating diver & coot poppers!!!
 
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Good tips all, Thanks! Those little divers sure are pretty ducks :)

I told the people at work I got a penguin, and they looked at the picture and were all so shocked haha! Perhaps I will give it another try if the puddle ducks are slow after the split!

PS, some really nice boats and decoys shown on this site!
 
I see references to using beer and wine to help the flavor. However, I am not sure how much one is to drink of either before eating a diver.
 
Pour diet Pepsi overs the breast till completely covered plus 1/2 inch.
Click to expand...
Eeeewwwww! Pepsi is gross...and DIET...yuck!

is there something special about the Pepsi? Would Coke work? Full strength not that gross diet crap? How about the glass bottles with cane sugar you can get at the Mexican grocery stores?

These are actually serious questions, I'm curious how it works but morally opposed to allowing Pepsi in the house.

BTW, reading this thread is making me hungry, excuse me while I go clean the drool off my keyboard...

Chuck
 
John,
John Burbon had a recipe that sounded very good for the stronger divers.

I dont have it written down but the key was a soak in Pineapple juice. It is the most acidic of the fruit juices and was used to take the Game Flavor out of the really strong ones.

I like buffle head just pan seared, but thats me.

Hank Garvey had a good recipe that used breast meat cubed into small 1\2 inch pieces. Pieces get a full coating of Melted butter then Cajun Spice mix to coat.
Heat an Iron Skillet (OutDoors if married) till very hot. Into the pan with more butter, melted and fast in with the duck. Watch out for flame ups.
Dump out on a towel over a plate and enjoy just past medium rare for most folks. Some like it rare.

Enjoy

Bob
 
Great advice above. My goldeneye marinade is usually orange juice and soy sauce with some garlic and ginger. Agree with all the points above about getting the blood out, cutting into strips, and quick cooking.

Most importantly, adding some fat as you cook, usually in the form of bacon, makes a big difference.

My nephew, a notoriously picky eater when he was young, has always loved my bacon wrapped duck appetizer at family parties. For the adults, my technique is to serve up the mallard/black duck/teal/wood duck early on, then bring out the divers as needed once everyone has had a drink or two.

My nephew told me last year that isn't necessary. "If you wrapped dog turds in bacon, grilled them, and served them with a good dipping sauce, it would still taste great."
 
Pepsi vs Coke

Chevy vs Ford

Glock vs all others!!!

It really comes down to taste.

I have tried all (3) three & found that the Diet Pepsi leaves little residual taste.

The regular drinks seem to just change the gamey flavor to the regular cola flavor.

Try the (4) four & see which one you like.

Honestly though, any of the Sam's cola's work just fine!!!
 
Pour diet Pepsi overs the breast till completely covered plus 1/2 inch.
Click to expand...
Eeeewwwww! Pepsi is gross...and DIET...yuck!

is there something special about the Pepsi? Would Coke work? Full strength not that gross diet crap? How about the glass bottles with cane sugar you can get at the Mexican grocery stores?

These are actually serious questions, I'm curious how it works but morally opposed to allowing Pepsi in the house.

BTW, reading this thread is making me hungry, excuse me while I go clean the drool off my keyboard...

Chuck
Click to expand...


any cola product will work....check the cheap generics out or Aldi's if you have one of those in town. Has to do with the phosphoric acid in the cola actually, carbonation really doesn't do much to the mix. That said, most soda's have PA in it, but cola's traditionally have the most.

As Howard said, it is all about getting the blood out of the meat in any mannor possible, soak, squeeze, this or that, just do something a couple of times dumping out the "juice" and rinse, repeat, how many times is up to you.

Buffies and GE cooked on a pan or grill too long will be livery in less time than you think if you are not careful. Seaducks even worse...but they are all edible.

I will also echo Carl, don't shoot it if you won't eat it. I can't stand reading on how guys shoot this or that only to "feed it to the dogs since they need to eat too"
 
Last year I started letting ALL my ducks age. laid them on their back in the fridge for 2-3 day s before cleaning....also kept them on their back from the time I shot them to keep the blood from pooling in the breast meat. I also then soak in a brine solution for a day or two after that... Milk or condensed milk does as well.

I have eaten GE's and buffies off of Pool 9 that are better than any darn popcorn duck... but the same birds off of Lake Michigan are entirely different. Their food makes a HUGE difference in any game animal...IMO Cooking them RARE is best.

We had gotten a wild game cookbook from Cabelas that has a tone of great revcipies in it. Duck Diane comes to mind.
 
John,
John Burbon had a recipe that sounded very good for the stronger divers.

I dont have it written down but the key was a soak in Pineapple juice. It is the most acidic of the fruit juices and was used to take the Game Flavor out of the really strong ones.

I like buffle head just pan seared, but thats me.

Hank Garvey had a good recipe that used breast meat cubed into small 1\2 inch pieces. Pieces get a full coating of Melted butter then Cajun Spice mix to coat.
Heat an Iron Skillet (OutDoors if married) till very hot. Into the pan with more butter, melted and fast in with the duck. Watch out for flame ups.
Dump out on a towel over a plate and enjoy just past medium rare for most folks. Some like it rare.

Enjoy

Bob
Click to expand...

I was turned on to the Garvey recipe after attending a couple MLB hunts and can attest to how great it makes any duck taste. So good in fact, that most of the guys standing around the skillet had their leatherman's out snagging pieces as fast as the Behrman's could cook them.
 
Lots of good here-

For Eider and any diver that the skin comes off easily-(removing the fat is a key)- take the breast and cut thin or cube- soak in Speedie sauce and cook on the grill-hot and quick. Way too many people over cook duck. And yes, Eider is good to eat. (Old Squaw not so much)
Hutch
 
Pineapple juice..... Funny story, did an Eider Hunt a few years back, last year Bill Wasson guided I believe... and did great, shot our limits. Brought all mine home, had my next door neighbor the taxidermist pick out the best pair for a double mount and then breasted the rest. I have done jerky with ducks and geese in the past, and really liked it... but this was the first time with eiders.... because there were eiders, I decided to soak them in the pineapple juice as John as always recommended.... I don't remember if I rinse them after the pineapple juice or not, but I remember a very distinct pineapple taste in the jerky.... what is funny about this is they still had a very strong fish taste and odor too. Especially when you first opened the bag each time.... my son would go to the bag and comment that "this is not very good" and proceeded to eat it all, but complained each time!
 
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