The Best Tasting Duck?

My DH has been saying he wants some ducks, and I'm more than happy to oblige him. Initially he just wanted some for the enjoyment of having them, but to be blunt, I'm not going to feed any sort of fowl that aren't going to feed me in some fashion or another.

We currently have 10 chickens just for eggs. We will be getting more chickens in the spring along with turkeys - all destined for the dinner table.

My nest question is, is there one breed of duck that tastes better than the other? Which one is it?

I was initially thinking of some muscoveys, but I don't think you can get them anymore unless it's an under the table sort of deal...no pun intended.

Please help. I would really appreciate some advice on which duck to raise for the table.

Thank you in advance!

Muscovy are supposed to taste more game, but I cannot confirm that because I never had any. In the mallard type family is not much of a difference, with the exception of pekin. Pekins have more fatty meat. Beyond that it depends on how your ducks live. Are they penned up with only commercial food or are they free ranging all day. Obviously the more they move the more muscle meat. Heavy breeds tend to have a little bit more fat content then light breeds. Not sure if that is really noticeable in taste after being cooked. Much of it is also subjective to the ones who eats it. What is their personal taste? And of course how it has been prepared.

Pekins to me taste the best scovies really don,t taste like duck to me I enjoy mallards and mergansers as well

Some breeds of Duck (Metzer's Golden 300's and some strains of Khaki Campbell) can out-lay even the most prolific laying hens, as well as the fact that a Duck egg is like twice the size of a chicken egg. You should have a few for laying too...IMO their eggs taste much better.

What do you mean you can't get 'Scovies? Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure there is no law about having them anywhere in the US.

If you want meat that "tastes like duck" try Pekins but Muscovy seems to have the superior taste (never tried it but talked to people that have)

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The new rules on muscovy just rules them out as pets Even the old rules allowed them for meat production. In my opinion they are the best meat ducks. less greasy than other ducks but with enough fat to produce a very succlent(sp) bird. The taste reminds me of veal. The drakes put on the weight fast and they are honry ducks so you don't need many drakes to keep the hens happy and producing up to 3 large (12-18)clutches of birds per year. In fact you need to keep an eye on them or you will have too many ducks. If you steal their eggs for birth control, the eggs are large (bigger than Jumbo) and good tasting. We used to put eggs out for untended (honor system) sales the chicken's were brown the muscovy white and the white always sold out first.

There are new laws concerning the Muscovies. You will legally be able to keep them for meat and eggs and showing but not as pets. They will have to be identied in one of the 4 approved ways.

I have Muscovies and have had them for 2 years now. However, I do not want to pinion, cut of a toe or tatoo them. Number Banding them is goig to be horribly expensive just for a few meat birds. Will need 2 different sizes at least as they have to be applied at 6 weeks and will have to be removed and a larger size used as they grow. Numbers will need to stay with the bird, so to speak. What a pain to work with. So I am considering other ducks, also.

I am looking for a meat duck that likes to eat snakes and rats. Because while I have Muscovies for meat they are very good at keeping the population of snakes to a bare minimum. So which other breed of duck eat snakes?

We have Rattle snakes, Copperheads, Cottonmouth and of course Rat snakes as well as others I have no idea what they are, oh ya,Water Moccassins too. God had a bunch leftover and just dumped them here in Texas, I'm pretty sure that is what happened.

So any ideas, I was wondering about Katharinad's ducks, they seam big enough. In the Muscovies its the drakes that take on the rats and snakes. While the ducks stand back and talk about the big brave Drake saving them yet once again.

I have heard the Cayuga is good for meat, but will they defend their ducks like the Muscovies do? For that matter do the other Breeds of Duck defend their families like the Muscovy does?

I prefer Pekin!

A local farmer I know conducted a taste test among chefs in the area two years ago, and pekin was the hands-down favorite. The farmer herself says she liked the khaki campbell best because it had a very "local" flavor--i.e., you could tell what the duck had been eating, and it was good. But in general, pekin tends to be the favorite. Good luck!

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The local 'chefs' have any experience with Muscovies? I agree that they don't cook up the same as Pekin, and because of the Pekin farms they are far more abundent on the market than Muscovies so chefs that cook duck would be more familiar with them. Eat what you like and forget about the chefs unless you go out for your meals.

Nope, they didn't try muscovies. I agree, get what you like, not what someone else likes. But if you've not had an opportunity to try various types of meat, then it's helpful to know what other people prefer. Or if you want to know for yourself, then start with a small mixed flock of four or five that sound good, and conduct your own taste test.