Duck hunting is a quintessential fall sport, and its quarry also makes for a delicious fall meal. In this Backyard Life video, veteran outdoorsman Andy Morgan demonstrates how to clean and prep a duck for eating. One of the necessary post-hunting chores involves cleaning game that’s been harvested. Morgan and his family eat a lot of wild game, so today he’s cleaning the Mallard ducks taken during his morning hunting session. Knowing how to properly clean and fillet them isn’t difficult at all, he says. You just have to learn some simple steps, which, luckily, we’ve got his right here!
How to Clean a Duck
- Start by laying the duck on its back and using your fingertip to locate its breast. Then, take the heels of your hand and put some pressure on the breastbone. At the same time, let your hands slide off the breastbone toward the outer edges of the duck. As your palms slide (while still applying pressure), they’ll start to pull the feathers and skin away from the breastbone.
- As the skin has begun pulling away from the breastbone, put your thumbs in and under the skin and start to pull it away from the duck meat. Duck skin is quite fatty, and—as a result—often times left on, Morgan says. But, he prefers to fillet the skin down, and off of, the meat.
- Next, Morgan places the tip of his pocket knife next to the breastbone. He then runs his blade along the breastbone, slicing the duck meat away from the bone. He does this on each side of the breastbone. When he gets to the bottom of the breastbone, he slices away from it toward the outer edge of the duck. Basically, he cuts an “L” shape in the duck meat on either side of the breastbone.
Then, Morgan cuts along the breastbone underneath the duck meat until he’s able to remove both breasts. Morgan also points out a small strip of tenderloin meat that lays right next to the breastbone, then removes it, too. He’s careful to remove any remaining feathers in the meat before placing both breasts and tenderloin strip into a plastic bag.
At this point, all of the meat worth eating has been cleaned. (Morgan opts not to clean or prep the legs or other parts of the duck that don’t contain an ample amount of meat.) And, it’s as simple as that! Now that you know how to clean a duck yourself, don’t let this new skill go to waste. Instead, try preparing it with the help of Andy’s own grilled wild duck recipe.
