Muscovy dux for meat thread

[Iguanahunter]

Hello everyone! Just got 5 1-month Muscovies delivered to my home for $15, thinking about butchering one or two of the drakes for Thanksgiving. Anyone have tips or experience raising muscovies for meat? And here's a knock on wood for it to go better than my red broiler experiment... Lost 2 more of those today dropping like flies, they are

 

[Rysktal]

We just processed our first muscovy last week. DELICIOUS!!!!!!!

 

[Iguanahunter]

I'm thinking about buying a drake from the guy who sold me the duckies just so I have experience plucking one.

 

[Rysktal]

I'm thinking about buying a drake from the guy who sold me the duckies just so I have experience plucking one.

We just skinned it....they are crazy tough to pluck! Now we are set up with better tools to try plucking next time.

 

[Iguanahunter]

We just skinned it....they are crazy tough to pluck! Now we are set up with better tools to try plucking next time.

How would you suggest we proceed? We would like to keep the skin on since we LOVE duck fat. Thanks!

 

[Rysktal]

How would you suggest we proceed? We would like to keep the skin on since we LOVE duck fat. Thanks!

Hopefully someone with more experience with chime in. Next time we will do the hot water dip to make pulling out the feathers easier.

 

[Iguanahunter]

Thanks anyways!

 

[TabbiMae]

I'm unsure if it works on ducks, but getting a big ole stock pot from good will and a thermometer works for a scalder. Get a heat glove like for cooking and pluck away!

 

[Maeschak]

I have zero experience with Muscovies but I hav read: (1) it is crucial to butcher at the appropriate time- and appropriate time is measured by when there are zero pin feathers, (2) do a scauld with hot water and dish soap, (3) pluck everything you can, (4) then re-scauld with hot water that contains flexible wax (game wax or something like that), and then (5) do a final pluck of the remaining feathers which in reality should just 'peeled off' of the skin bc the remaining feathers are encased in hardened wax.

Once I get some Muscovies this is the method I will try. Some people only use 1 scauld and the wax is in thatsame scalding pot. I've tried that on wild ducks and for me it just wasted too much wax. The very exterior feathers were the only feathers encased in wax so it took tons of dunking/rewaxing to get to the difficult under feathers. (I was, however using simple paraffin wax and not the newer more flexible wax for defeathering animals).

 

[Iguanahunter]

Tried to dry pluck one of the 12 week females... Not happening! But the flavor is really good, definitely got me hyped for thanksgiving!