Merganser

[tangleknot]

My friend gave us some ducks from their hunt and I am going to clean them , freeze the meat, and use the skins for fly tying. One of them is a merganser and she said they do not have the best flavor. Any cooking suggestions?

[trout]

You may want to try smoking it?

[Steven Arend]

Here is the best way that I've found to cook a merganser.

Take a nice size pot add 3-4 cups water bring to a boil.
add Merganser breast.
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tbls garlic salt
2 tbls all season salt
1/4 cup honey.
and add (1) old pair of tennishoes
let cook for 4 hrs. or till shoes are nice and tender.
turn off heat though merganser away and eat the shoes.

:D

[ullinson]

Soak them in buttermilk overnight in the fridge. It does alot to improve the flavor.

ullinson

[multibeard]

As I have not been lucky enough to shoot a mergie I have had no experiance in cooking them. I have found a way to get the flavor of goose so it is palitable to me. I slice the breast in thing strips and then marinate it in BBQ sauce for 5/7 days in the fridge. Might work on mergiees.

My dog sure gives me a dirty look when I throw up my gun and realize it is a mergie and don't shoot. She also gives me a funny look when I do shoot and nothing falls from the sky.

[tangleknot]

Thanks for the replies everyone, the tennis shoe recipe sounds like one that will please the entire family!:D Smoking them also sounds like a good idea, as does the butter milk soak(makes sense since milk soaks help remove the strong, fishy taste in certain fish.)

Multibeard, we use a bbq sauce recipe with our goose and it turns out great. We cook it in the crock pot until it is tender(takes a while;) ), shred the meat, and then add your favorite bbq sauce. It makes great bbq goose sandwiches. I usually throw a couple of apples in with the goose since it helps sweeten the strong flavour.

Thanks again! I hate to waste anything so I am always trying to find a way to "make it work."
;)

[Steven Arend]

tangleknot,

I Make the goose BBQ the same way. Every Oct. for my Birthday I will make up a pot full for the guys here at work. I like to start it the morning before I bring it in. I turns out nice and tender and does not last long with these bigs.

[Big Frank 25]

I'd be interested to here how it turns out. I have cookbook that cooks everything. One recipe in particular for woodcock that make an Au Jue (sp) out of the entrails. It listed the Mergy to be eaten as a last resort!

[Jethro]

Tangle-
I think your friend is playing a sick joke on you.
When a dog will turn it's nose up to a mergy, you know it's got to be bad.

[Bow Hunter Brandon]

I shot one up north this year and cooked it on the grill with no preperation at all just cleaned it and grilled it. I could put it in my mouth and chew it and it was ok but I could not make myself swallow more then one bite of it.
Dont know what I will do if I shoot another one hopefully I never do. Although the hooded are so fast when they come in I wish they tasted beter because they are sure fun to shoot.

I think the best use might be as a training tool for dogs. Honestly.

[bvd7]

I shot one up north this year and cooked it on the grill with no preperation at all just cleaned it and grilled it. I could put it in my mouth and chew it and it was ok but I could not make myself swallow more then one bite of it.
Dont know what I will do if I shoot another one hopefully I never do. Although the hooded are so fast when they come in I wish they tasted beter because they are sure fun to shoot.

I think the best use might be as a training tool for dogs. Honestly.
Whatever it is add bacon. Wrap it in bacon before you cook it......."everything is better with bacon". My waterfowl buddies and me kid about it all the time but there is some seriousness to it. If you breast wild fowl all the fat is gone. If you cook it to long with no fat the result is tough unpalatable meat. Wrap it in bacon to add the grease back to the meat. It keeps the meat tender and offers the flavor of bacon....come on name one person tht does not like the taste of bacon...........Keep it on the rare side.

[Neal]

If you marinade it and cook it perfectly it taste just like carp :sick:

[Buddy Lee]

I've shot a couple hooded mergansers over the years, and honestly they tasted fine. Seriously. I'm not kidding.

[tangleknot]

LOl, I guess I should fill everyone in on how it was prepared and EATEN! ;) Bvd7, you're right, bacon is the answer. We had enjoyed some duck wrapped in bacon with a chunk of pineapple while camping some time ago and the kids loved it.

I decided to use the same recipe at home with some duck and added the merganser to the mix and broiled it. It disappeared quickly and I kept anticipating a quirky look, an ewww, something, but didn't get a single complaint or "what the heck was that!?!?!" Maybe the kids just aren't picky eaters. :lol: Gotta love bacon! ;)

Worked out nice! My friends enjoyed hunting, we had a meal,and I'm still using the feathers to tie with. I must admit, I hope they don't decide to go carp fishing. :fish2:

[Steve]

Merganser, bad for the trout and bad to eat.