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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 29, 2018)
C8 East Oregonian OUTSIDE Saturday, December 29, 2018 Wild duck: It’s all in the preparation A guide to bringing fowl from the field to the table By BILL ANEY For the East Oregonian I started hunting waterfowl in my early twenties, and quickly fell in love with the pastime. Marsh sunrises, excited dogs, shotguns, fast-flying birds, decoys, calls; I was hooked on the whole experience. With a little success, however, came a real dilemma. I did not like eating ducks. No amount of soaking in milk or slather- ing with apricot preserves could mask the “flying liver” taste of the ducks I cooked. I believe every hunter has an obliga- tion to be able to prepare, enjoy, and share the meat of his quarry. If I didn’t learn the secret of preparing the meat for the table I would not be able to continue hunting duck — no matter how much I enjoyed decoys, dogs and dawn in the marsh. Fortunately, over the past 35 or so seasons, I learned some secrets of hunt- ing and preparing duck that make it one of my favorite meat choices. To this day, I have friends who are avid hunters who will not hunt ducks because they cannot tolerate the taste. I’m convinced that they have simply not had the right duck, han- dled correctly and prepared well. Be selective about the duck species you hunt. We are blessed with abundant populations of good eating puddle ducks like pintails, teal, widgeon and, of course, mallards. Puddle ducks feed primarily on seeds, grains, and vegetation in water or on land. Then there are the diving ducks that I have learned to pass up when they fly near the blind. Fish-eating ducks (such as mergansers) can surely taste fishy, or so I have heard, so I let them go by. Other div- ers, like ring-necked ducks, goldeneyes, scaups and buffleheads, I enjoy for their swift flight, their activity on the pond, and their ability to entice puddle ducks into my decoys, but I don’t shoot them because I don’t eat them. And coots? There’s a rea- son they’re called mud-hens. Of course, this means being able to identify ducks on the wing, and I know plenty of hunters who have stories about having to eat their lessons — yours truly included. Preparation I have learned that it is not necessary to clean ducks the minute you get home. In fact, I have good success letting mal- lards sit in a 40-degree garage for two days before I clean them. It seems like they pluck easier and the meat is better tasting. Keep the skin on as much as possible. Skinning a duck is an easy way to clean them, but by plucking them you leave the skin and the underlying layer of fat intact. Wild duck meat is notoriously lean, so any fat you can leave attached to the meat helps retain flavor and moisture. Cooking The number one rule — do not over- cook. Repeat: Do Not Overcook. Over- cooking a mallard breast gives it the flavor and texture of liver, a detestable food if you ask me. I cook my duck meat to medium rare. Use a good quality meat thermom- Photo by Mike Gregg Bill Aney and his chocolate Lab, Ruby, pose during a recent duck hunting outing on the Columbia River. eter, and pull the meat off the heat when breast meat reaches 135 degrees. Note: the USDA recommends cooking duck to 170 degrees to kill any harmful bacteria. This is probably the safest way to prepare meat, and in my opinion the surest way to cre- ate distaste for wild duck. It’s your choice. My current go-to preparations for duck fall into one of three categories: slow roasting (on a smoker grill), frying on the stove top with breading and cayenne (think duck nuggets), and in a duck hash. The internet and bookstores are full of recipes available for smoking or roasting whole ducks on an outside smoker grill. Just remember that wild ducks are not very fat, and cooking on a grill can dry the meat. I usually start by brining the duck. I submerge it in a salty and/or sweet brine solution for 8-12 hours, and then place it on my smoker grill at a low, smoking temperature for a few hours before finish- ing at a higher temperature until the legs and thighs reach 165 degrees. Stuffing the interior with apple, orange, etc. is said to help create a moister meat, but of course it will take longer to cook. And don’t eat the stuffing. Hunting waterfowl is a wonderful pas- time, with all of the traditional trappings of dogs, decoys, shotguns and the excite- ment of skies full of birds. Duck on the table can be savored and enjoyed if it is handled and prepared well, leading to a lifetime of good hunting and good eating. Wild Duck Hash – adapted from NPR.org Makes 2 servings 1 large puddle duck breast (the 2 halves from one duck), skin on 1 to 2 small Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 1 cup) Olive oil or vegetable oil Kosher salt 1 very small onion, diced (about 1/2 cup) 1/2 cup chicken or duck stock 1 tablespoon cream (optional) 1 to 2 teaspoons cider or wine vinegar Fresh ground black pepper 2 poached eggs Chopped chives or parsley to garnish (optional) To cook the duck breast: Heat a medium skillet over medium high heat for a couple of minutes. While it’s heating, score the duck skin by cutting through the skin and Ranchers upset by wild horse release By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI EO Media Group An apparent relocation of wild horses to Oregon’s Malheur National Forest has upset ranchers who say the area is already over- stocked with the animals. Rancher Mike Moore said he encountered a Forest Service vehicle pulling a trailer on Dec. 14 in the Murderers Creek allotment of the national forest, which is an unusual sight, especially during winter. Responding to questions, Moore said, the Forest Service employee driving the vehi- cle admitted the trailer contained several wild horses gathered from the neighbor- ing Ochoco National Forest that were to be released in the area. “I just think this is wrong. You can’t be tak- ing horses from one forest to another, that isn’t right,” he said. “We’ve got too many horses and they’re not helping by bringing more horses from another forest to this forest.” Representatives of the Malheur National Forest said they’re coordinating with the Ochoco National Forest to understand why some horses were returned to the Murder- ers Creek allotment from the neighboring national forest and would soon issue a state- ment about the situation. Wild horses are a contentious subject in the Malheur National Forest, where ranchers say the animals trample stream banks to the detriment of federally-protected fish, pre- venting cattle from being allowed to graze on affected allotments. The maximum “appropriate management level” for the Murderers Creek herd man- agement area is 140 wild horses, whereas the most recent estimate for the actual popu- lation is 339 horses. Loren Stout, a rancher who grazes cattle on the Murderers Creek allotment, said the actual population is probably more than 500 horses. Stout said he’s doubtful of the Forest Ser- vice’s explanation of the incident, which he believes is illegal and in violation of a 2013 fat (but not the meat) about every inch. Turn the breast 90 degrees and repeat, so you have a diamond pattern of score marks. Salt the duck on both sides. When the skillet is hot, place the duck breast skin-side down in the skillet and turn the heat down to medium. Watch the meat carefully here. I go for four to five minutes on one side and then flip and cook for three to four minutes on the other. You’re trying to render out all of the fat from the skin side (there won’t be much on a wild duck) without overcooking the meat. The meat will still be very pink – do not overcook. Remove it from the heat and place on a plate for a few minutes. Place the diced potatoes in a small pan and cover with water. Over medium high heat, bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook for five to six minutes, until almost done (potatoes should still be slightly firm in the center). Drain thoroughly and pat dry. Meanwhile, remove the skin and fat from the duck breasts and dice it. Cut the meat into 1/2-inch cubes (you should have one to two cups of meat). Return the skillet to the heat on medi- um-high. If you had a fat wild duck, there will be some fat in the pan. Supplement this with olive oil to coat the pan. When the fat is hot, add the drained potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and sauté for three to five minutes, until crisp and golden brown. Add the onions and cook for a couple of minutes, until they begin to color slightly. Add the duck meat and cook to heat through, one to two minutes. Add the stock to the pan and stir to dis- solve the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce until most of the stock is evaporated. Add the cream, stir and cook just until the cream is heated through and coats the hash. Sprinkle the hash with a teaspoon of the vinegar and a couple of grinds of black pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt or vinegar as desired. Divide the hash between two plates and top each with a poached egg. Sprinkle with chives or parsley, if using. Spicy Duck Nuggets 6 duck breast halves, skinned (breasts from 3 ducks) Coating mix (I use Pride of the West brand) Cayenne pepper to taste Juice of two lemons Vegetable oil or olive oil Slice the duck breasts across the grain into strips about ½ inch wide. Place in a bowl and add lemon juice, stir to coat and let sit for 15-30 minutes. Sprinkle ½ cup of coating mix into a pie plate, add cayenne pepper (start with ½ tsp, more if you want the nuggets spicier). One at a time, lift the duck breast slices from lemon, shake excess lemon juice, and then dredge them in the coating/cay- enne mix. Heat skillet over medium high heat, add oil to ¼ inch depth. When hot, gently add a layer of duck nuggets. Let cook for one minute, turn, repeat until outside is brown and inside is still moist and slightly pink. Do not overcook. Place on a plate in a warmed 200 degree oven. Keep warm until serving. Study: Northwest salmon not immune to ocean acidification By JES BURNS Oregon Public Broadcasting Mateusz Perkowski/EO Media Group/Capital Press A wild horse grazes near a gravel road in Oregon’s Malheur National Forest. The recent release of several wild horses in the national forest has stirred the ire of local ranchers who say it violates a legal settlement. settlement agreement in which the agency agreed to reduce the wild horse population in the area. “Why they did it, I have no idea,” Stout said. “It’s unbelievable, especially after going through a lawsuit.” Moore said he’s likewise skeptical of the explanation that the horses were being returned after venturing off the Malheur National Forest. “There’s a lot going on here that doesn’t make a lot of sense,” he said. “I think they’re in damage control right now.” After Stout filed a lawsuit alleging the Forest Service had violated the Endan- gered Species Act, a federal judge agreed that the agency had failed to consult about the impacts of wild horses on threatened steelhead. The judge dismissed several other claims made by Stout and the parties reached a set- tlement deal under which the agency agreed to lower the horse population to about 50-60 horses by 2016. The Dec. 14 incident is just the latest example of the Forest Service violating the settlement, Stout said. “They couldn’t wait to break the agreement.” Gayle Hunt, founder of the Central Ore- gon Wild Horse Coalition, said it would be legal for the Forest Service to return wild horses to their place of origin, but not to transfer horses from another area into a national forest. “What’s in question here is whether these were Murderers Creek horses,” she said. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which oversees wild horses, has an “excel- lent” database of DNA from the Murderers Creek herd, which could confirm whether the animals originated from that area through hair and fecal samples, Hunt said. “If that was not done, there’s a problem,” she said. A new study suggests that salmon will not be immune to the effects of ocean acidification. Scientists found that changes to ocean chemistry disrupt a fish’s ability to smell danger in the water. Researcher Chase Williams of the University of Washington exposed young coho salmon to the elevated ocean CO2 levels expected over the next few decades. He then dropped in an odor that normally makes the fish react as if a pred- ator is near. The fish ignored it. “They’re still smelling odorant, but the way their brain is processing that sig- nal is altered … Before, they would avoid this predator odor and now they’re more indifferent to it,” Williams said. The results are concerning because salmon rely on smell to avoid danger, find food and to find their way back to spawn- ing grounds in West Coast rivers. Co-author Andrew Dittman is a sci- entist with the federal Northwest Fishery Science Center. He said the results could apply to other salmon species. “The mechanisms involved … are very similar. So the expectation would be that we would see relatively similar phe- nomena in the other species as well,” he said. The ocean absorbs about 25 percent of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The more CO2 humans emit, the more saturated the ocean becomes, thus lower- ing the pH of the water. Ocean acidification has already started to have negative effects on the Pacific Northwest’s shellfish industry. Knowl- edge about potential impacts on other ocean species is still limited. The study was published in the journal Global Change Biology.
