Inedible ducks?

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

I was reading a book discussing hunting in general but the author was on the subject of Eider, he said that it was nearly inedible, regardless of how it was prepared, I myself have never duck hunted, limiting myself to small game like hare, squirrel and upland birds, at least as far as shotgunning goes. Are there truly foul tasking ducks? Does this speak mostly to diet more than the bird itself?

 

[416bigbore]

Having grown up in the Midwest, we lived in the water fowl migratory fly zone, so both waterfowl and upland game hunting was one of my favorite activities.

I have never heard of Eider before until I just looked it up. I do agree there are some types of waterfowl we didn't hunt because they were local ducks and would mostly hang out in little stagnate ponds and would eat the nasty smelling vegetation that grew there. They were nicknamed sh*t Ducks and nobody that I knew of would bother hunting them.

The best waterfowl hunting was when the Canadian Ducks and Geese would fly through. Their diet mostly consisted of the small grains ( corn, wheat, oats, barley ) that the local farmers grew in the area. IMO, that is why they tasted so much better over some of the others and knowing how to cook them the right way helped also.

I can understand why these Eider type Ducks wouldn't be very good to eat given their seafood diet. You would have to cook them on a board first....... Then throw away the bird and eat the board!

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eider

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I would bet their diet is why they tasted so unpleasant. They eat a lot of seafood and animals do tend to take on strong tastes depending on what they eat...especially fish. Any duck I have had I found somewhat similar to either goose or veal depending on the breed, but I have never had a terrible tasting duck.

 

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

Im not much into duck for eating, probably because i have only had it a time or 2 and I found it greasy. I suspect it was improperly prepared, i do however like my darker, oily wild birds done in the grill, on foil to start, then off The foil to”crisp” low and slow, i filet the thighs and pull out the breasts, then cook them on the foil untill all oily fat has totally rendered and then crisp it up, it’s delicious. Also a good technique for chicken thighs