Merganser recipe(s)

[mergus]

In Stew71's thread titled "Any Day Duck Hunting", 86'er asked for merganser receipes. I didn't want them to be unnoticed as mergansers can be great eating, BUT you do have to know how to cook them.

Here in Vt, we have tons of mergansers. The daily bag limit is 6, and thats above and beyond the bag limit for "other" ducks. With that much shooting oppurtunity, it seemed like coming up with a edible recipe or 2 was a good idea. These recipe's work with any of the 3 types of mergs commonly encountered in North America. Here's the 2 recipe's I use:

1) Grilled Mergs wrapped in Bacon. Breast the merg out completely, removing all skin and fat. The fat hold much of the "bad" taste associated with mergs. Marinate the breast(s) in pinapple juice for at least 24 hours. 48 is better, 72 hours even more so. Drain the juice off, rinse the breasts and wrap each breast with a slice of maple cured bacon. Then heavily slather with BBQ sauce. Grill medium rare and serve hot.

I served this recipe the day after Christmas at my parents house to a group of 15 people, most of whome were non hunters. They RAVED about it. Since they were non hunters, they didn't know they were supposed to dislike mergs.

2) Merganser Sausage. Breast the ducks out the same as above. Marinate with pinaple the same as above. Then procure enough lamb shoulder meat to equal about half the volume of merganser meat you have. Add lots of fennel and sage, brown sugar and if possible REAL maple syrup. Grind and mix well. Make patty's and freeze. When you cook them up, place a slice of blue cheese on top of each patty in time for the cheese to melt over the patty. You don't want to do it so early the cheese melts off. Serve warm and be amazed at how good it tastes.

Mergus

[FWiedner]

I don't even know what a merganser is, but these recipes read to me like the best way to prepare it is to try and cover up whatever it must taste like in it's natural form.

Like Coyote or Javelina...

[Blaine]

Every part of the world has their Meat On A Stick vendors....it's all good, but, I don't want to know what it was...especially in Korea, or Panama

[Bill in Oregon]

Mergus: I tip my hat to you. I've never been much for any of the ducks as table fare, but my brother and his family will eat any waterfowl that flies. I'll pass these on. Mergs have an ugly repution here in the Northwest for the toll they take on juvenile salmon and steelhead. If these recipes work as billed, maybe more hunters will bring them home -- a win for the hunters and our fish.

[mergus]

FWeidner, there are 3 species of merganser in North America, the hooded, the common, and the red breasted. The red breasted is mostly a salt water bird, with the other 2 being seen mostly on fresh water. Mergansers have long thin bills with teeth showing on the sides. They are capable of long under water dives, much like a loon. And most importantly to my friends, they eat huge qty's of salmon and trout smolt. To me, they are handsome birds. So much so that the mergus in my name comes form the latin for the common merganser "Mergus Merganser".

Being the optimist that I am, I prefer to think that I'm not covering up bad taste, I'm, removing obstacles to good taste!

Mergus

[86er]

Great - Thanks!

[J35]

I tip my hat as well: Both recipe's sound good to me.

Duck and dumpling's are some kind of good as well. ( Bluebills, Goldeneyes, Black duck, teal)

Take care ---J

[Old Shatterhand]

Skin the merganser as soon as possible and carefulle scrape away fat and tallow. At home you cut it into parts and then lay them in a bowl. Cover up with milk and let stay so for three days. Change the milk and let stay som more days.

Take an iron pot, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and heat until lightly brown. Dry the merganser parts with a cloth and lay them into the pot. Fry shortly on all sides. Then add ½ pint of fat cream, a dozen of dried plums, ½ onion in small pieces, some ground black pepper and ½ teaspoon salt. Let simmer under cover for ½-3/4 hour. Pick up the meat and put in a bowl. Thicken the cream with some wheat flour mixed with butter, and add some stock or of the water in which the potatoes and vegetables have been cooked. Serve with potatoes, vegetables, black currant jelly and a nice red wine.

This old, very traditional recipe is fine for other fat fowls too.

Mergansers are the only fowls, which are shootable in the little lake of our hunting ground. They rest there on their migration in fall, and with some luck we bag some each year with our shotguns.

Next fall I'm going to try Mergus' recipe with pineapple marinade and bacon. It sounds like a good dish!

Pete

[mergus]

Hello Shatterhand. I'm tickled pink to hear my merganser recipe is going to go international.

And I will be trying the recipe you posted....

Mergus

[Chuck 100 yd]

Here in the north west they taste like fish.... Bad fish!

We nail them onto a board and cook for several hours.
Throw the duck away and eat the board.

[Blaine]

Here in the north west they taste like fish.... Bad fish!

We nail them onto a board and cook for several hours.
Throw the duck away and eat the board.

The white cedar tastes better than the red cedar

[Shasta]

Here in the north west they taste like fish.... Bad fish!

We nail them onto a board and cook for several hours.
Throw the duck away and eat the board.

The white cedar tastes better than the red cedar

You guys ought to try using sugar pine. It has a sweeter taste!


SHASTA

[stew71]

Mergus, thanks for posting those recipes. I've forwarded them to my buddy. If we pop a couple in the remainder of the season, we'll give them a try.

Thanks!!

[Marlin32]

Can't speak for using merganser, but I use Pineapple juice for marinading alot! Deer included, not just waterfowl. With the juice, maybe some good basalmic vinegar, or Lawry's marinade (terryiaki that has pineapple juice in it as well) or terriyaki and worcestershire.

Also have marinaded ducks/geese/cranes in raspberry yogurt for a day or two. Then pour some "Raspberry Enlightenment" (available from Penzey's Spices) grill and serve.

Going to Arkansas tomorrow for ducks, planning on having a bunch to bring back, will try a new marinade: honey and whatever flavor yogurt. Grilled, serve same fruit as the flavor of yogurt, over the top and should be good to go!!