Duck plucking 101

To Pluck a Duck...

You will need:

An axe and chopping block, or a sharp knife

A large pot (jam pan is perfect)

Dishwashing liquid (a squirt) & water

Camp gas stove or open flame brazier (this is an outside job)

String

Long stick

Rubbish bin/sack

Strong will and even stronger stomach!

The sun is shining on Tuesday morning, so apparently that means we’re plucking ducks today. Hunter’s rules dictate that if you shoot it you have to clean it, so my hunter’s younger brother joins us for the mission ahead, along with veteran duck plucker – the hunter’s mother! The hunter’s mother was brought up on a farm to some degree, so has been exposed to such things since she was a wee tyke. She’s one of the most experienced duck pluckers I’ve come across, with a few different methods up her sleeves depending on the situation. Dry plucking can be quite messy, feathers everywhere! Wax plucking is the tidiest and most effective but it's hard to find enough wax these days.

Today, because the ducks were killed a couple of days ago, we’re first going to be-head and de-wing them (axe and chopping block is the fastest way, as long as you’ve got good aim!), then dunk them in scalding water with some dishwashing liquid in it. As the hunter’s mother says “It softens the skin, just like how it softens your hands!”, making it easier to pull the feathers out. 

Because ours were hung for a couple of days before their last swim in the 'hot pool', they already had string around their wee ankles, but if yours haven't had this treatment, you'll need to tie a length of string (about 15-20cms) around their ankle so you have something to hold while dunking them in the hot water. You'll need a stick to keep them under water. They have natural buoyancy, and as we know, their feathers are water repellant so you have to kind of comb them back while underwater so the hot water gets to the skin.

Then pluck, just like waxing, against the grain worked best for me, but if they’re soaked well enough it doesn’t really matter. Be careful, they'll be hot! The key is finding the happy balance between being in the water long enough to soften, but not so long to start cooking! I kept pulling them out and having a gentle tug on some feathers to see how loose they were. It seemed to work fine, I was praised regularly by all at how perfectly pluckable they were. Ahhhh the satisfaction of scalding a duck just right haha!

Once plucked, you need to gut them, which basically involves sticking your hand up it's butt (so glamorous) and pulling all the insides out. Then, tidy up the neck and wing joints with your knife, remove their feet and you're done! Be sure to remove 'the Pope's nose' (the tail) as it can sometimes have a gland near it which can taint your meal if you know what I mean... If you want, you could joint and breast them now as well, if you don't want to cook them whole. To breast them, just slice down the breast bone and pull the muscle away, easy. If you only want the breast, you can avoid all the scalding, plucking and gutting by making an incision just below the neck on the breast side, pulling back the skin and removing the breasts from there. (See photo)

The same rules apply for all other feathered creatures, but I wouldn't scald the smaller ones with more delicate meat - quail, chukar, pheasant.
For a more detailed explanation and great photos click here