Diver Chili - something good can come from sea ducks!

[mazzgolf]

My buddy bought a sea duck boat a few years ago (one of those Duck Waters... it's a tank). He loves sea duck hunting and got me totally into it, too - I love it now.

But what I don't love is eating sea ducks. I've mentioned this before but I don't like killing things just to kill them. Unless its varmint control, I prefer to eat what I harvest (or use it as bait to catch something ELSE I'll eat )

Very hard to find good recipes for sea duck (or any diver duck, like buffleheads). I did find one good recipe last season (a variation of the typical duck poppers from Jeff Coates that uses Chinese Five Spice), but that could be hit or miss. I wanted something more guaranteed. Well, I've had this "Diver Chili" recipe for a year now, but didn't have any divers to try it with, until now. Weather down the shore has been crappy all season for sea duckin' but we finally got good enough weather to get out last Friday (ice at the ramp was no match for the Duck Water - thing is an ice-breaker!)

Anyway, I think I nailed this one. "Diver Chili" !! I was going to call it "Sea Duck Chili" but I think you can make this with any diver duck - I'll try this if I get buffleheads next week during the final week of coastal if I can get out for them. But for this first time experiment, I did use a pound of breast meat from sea ducks (specifically common Scoter and Surf Scoter).

It came out really good. You would never know its sea duck. It is a labor of love though - takes a time commitment, what with the days you want to leave it in the brine and marinade. But this will now be my go-to recipe for all our sea duck harvests, and probably buffleheads and other divers, too.

Pics and recipe below.

Coming in with a 2-man limit of sea duck:

Ice back at the ramp was no match for The Tank:

Surf Scoters (the clowns of the duck family) and common Scoters .... hmmm... how to cook these??

How about some chili?

I don't know what it is about pickled red onions, but they are delicious and go with so many foods. That's optional for this recipe - you can top with cheddar cheese, or parsley, or whatever you want.

Diver Chili

INGREDIENTS:

Waterfowl breasts (any divers that are typically hard to cook - sea ducks, buffleheads, etc.)

Brine (keep the 1 cup-1Tbsp ratio if you need more)

• 1 cup water
• 1 Tbsp table salt

Marinade (per pound of meat)

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
• 2 tsp chipotle tabasco
• 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp garlic salt
• 2 tsp pepper
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic, minced (optional, since garlic salt is already added)
• 1 tsp BBQ sauce
• 1 heaping Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 cup water

Meat spices (per pound of meat)

• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 heaping tsp oregano
• 1 heaping tsp parsley
• 1 heaping tsp thyme
• 1 heaping tsp basil
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp chili powder

Chili ingredients

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 small can black beans
• 1 small can corn
• 2.5 cups beef broth
  • (optional) Substitute 1 cup with a can of beer
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 heaping Tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish

• Cheese, parsley, chopped onions, pickled onions, etc.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut breasts into chunks of meat
2. Brine in a ziplock bag for at least 4 days, changing the brine solution once a day
3. Empty all the brine from the bag
4. Add the marinade to the bag and thoroughly mix
5. Let the meat marinade for at least 2 days, flipping the bag daily
6. Empty the marinade from the bag (no need to rinse off the marinade completely - adds flavor to the meat)
7. Optionally put the meat in the freezer for 15 minutes or so to make grinding easier
8. Grind the meat once, add meat spices, and either grind a second time or mix in the spices by hand
9. In a large pot, cook onion for a few minutes, then add garlic, cook for another 30 seconds, then add ground meat and cook until meat is brown
10. Add in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil
11. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered 45-60 minutes or until chili has reached desired thickness
12. Serve hot, topped with cheese, parsley, chopped onions, pickled onions, or whatever you'd like

NOTES: https://www.spendwithpennies.com/the-best-chili-recipe/ 

 

 

 

[Bonefreak]

Outstanding!!  Looks great!!

[Recurve hntr]

Looks amazing.

[Cousin Brown]

Buffleheads are good eating,  however they dont freeze well at all,  breast out and marinate them &  make whatever you want.  They make excellent fajitas.