merganser part deux

[jerseyducker]

They are hard to find in Jersey. I just got lucky. 

[MGHunter66]

3 hours ago, mazzgolf said:

I wasn't going to do it - but my friend was adamant - he swears if you prepare it right, it will be good. I don't believe it, but.... most of my incentive to try it again is to prove him wrong  

Your friend is at home laughing his ass off thinking of the look on your face during every bite

[Pucknut]

Sounds like a good recipe to me, just remember to dial your expectations back from mallard or venison. I consider Diver to be an acquired taste, like cognac!

[MPSR]

Im interested in how this turns out.. I cooked one once.. never again

[Mallard1100]

Very simple recipe for merganser in the waterfowl community:

1. Put merganser breast in oven on 400. 

2. Remove merganser and and place on cutting board. 

3. Put ketchup on board. 

4. Throw away merganser 

5. Eat cutting board 

6. Enjoy. 

[chenrossi]

8 hours ago, vdep217 said:

Like I said in other thread I put all of my divers in one bag just keep adding.   At the end of the season I will see what I got than add goose and some deer meat if needed grind it all and make jerkry

I wouldn't tarnish any deer or goose meat with divers. They're too good on their own.

[Dogface]

I'm looking forward to your second try. I hope you survive! 

A few weeks ago my son shot a buffie out of boredom. He cooked it up and it was pretty good. I was surprised. I haven't shot them in many years but I might not pass on them after tasting that one.

 

[Mpdiesel]

"Definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results."-Albert Einstein.

I think this guy named Albert was pretty smart.

[mazzgolf]

9 minutes ago, Dogface said:

I'm looking forward to your second try.

I just changed out my brine - some clean water, salt, and pepper - that's it. I'll let this brine another day to make it a full 2 days in the brine after those full 2 days of dry aging in the fridge. The color of the meat has already changed a little bit - and I don't smell any "seafood" odor. So that's a good sign I guess.

I have some Honey Terriyaki marinade - so I think tomorrow at lunch time I will dump the brine and start to marinate the breast meat in that. After several hours in that, it should be ready by dinner time to try. I guess I'll just bake it. Haven't thought that far ahead   If anyone has ideas on how to complete this project, let me know (but realize I'm trying to make this easy on me - I'm not making a gourmet dinner - I just want to see if I can find an easy way to make a dinner with these monstrosities). But I think I might just put it in the oven at high heat (450 or so) and do a quick 10-minute bake. Maybe wrapped in bacon? Everything tastes good with bacon, right? 

2 minutes ago, Mpdiesel said:

"Definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results."-Albert Einstein.

Ah.. but see.. that's the point to this whole exercise. I'm *NOT* doing the same thing. The first time I tried to go from field-to-table in the same day -- it didn't work out well. But now I'm taking it slow and trying to prepare it in a different way. We shall see... stay tuned...

 

[rgw]

Charcoal grill, you need all the extra flavor you can get

[Mpdiesel]

14 minutes ago, mazzgolf said:

Ah.. but see.. that's the point to this whole exercise. I'm *NOT* doing the same thing. The first time I tried to go from field-to-table in the same day -- it didn't work out well. But now I'm taking it slow and trying to prepare it in a different way. We shall see... stay tuned...

 

In twenty years of hunting ducks I have been told Mergansers are an acquired taste. In twenty years, I have yet to meet one person who has an acquired taste for Mergansers. 

[mazzgolf]

OK, the verdict is in. Well, kind of. I would say this - it was not horrible or inedible but certainly not as good as most other game meat I've had. But honestly, if I knew how to cook it better, I think it could be doable.

It didn't have any fishy flavor or odor, and it was not oily, but it was gamey. Like I said, someone with cooking skills could definitely do something with this (Wrapping in bacon does make it better  The bacon flavor does enhance the meat.)

Next season, I'll try again. But I'll really try to do it "right". Dry age it a little more with the skin on, perhaps. This little experiment was just to see if I could get out that fishy flavor and oily texture, which I've proven you can do.

In short, take the time and be patient while preparing the meat properly, and find a good recipe, and I think you can have a meal. Just go into it realizing it isn't venison tenderloin.

[rgw]

Yeah I will still pass

[TouchofGrey]

Thanks for the Posts, it was a great read. Kinda like watching Bear Gryliss or Les Stroud eat some type of road kill!!

[mazzgolf]

I have two friends of mine that have dogs - if the cooking thing utterly fails, my backup is to just give the birds to them for dog training