Butchering Ducks Part 1

Quack Quack

Start with healthy, free range, outside well fed ducks.

We have been blessed this summer with baby ducklings and they grew really fast, so we decided to have Roast Duck for Christmas.

We will show you the steps to butcher ducks in this edition of the blog, which will somewhat detail how it is done and we have some pictures of the process.

Note: These are actual pictures of the process and graphic so you can have a better idea of how it is Really Done, down here on the farm.

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You will need:

A big log to use as a butcher block, or a board etc.

2 nails

Hammer

Hatchet, or machette (sharp)

Exam gloves (if you do not wish to touch the innards with your bare hands, especially if you have any  cuts or sores.)

A table or work area with a waterproof surface that can be rinsed with a hose.

Big cutting board

3 x 5 or 6-gallon empty buckets (One for scrap, one for hot water and one for cold water)

Sharp knives, several, scalpel works great too.

Tweezers (some of the feathers are so small and not easy to get out unless you have some of those)

Freezer Paper and tape to wrap the meat.

Big Pot or several small pots in which to boil water

NO pressure washer for Ducks.

Metal wire to hang the ducks by their feet on the fence. If you do not have a fence to hang them on you could just use a table.

Here is how we did it:

First we went into the duck house and caught the ducks, we decided to butcher. Held gently tucked under the arm, we said a blessing and gave thanks for its life.

Then we laid its head between the two nails on the butcher block and chopped the head off with the hatchet.

After that we hung it upside down to let the blood drain for about 3 minutes.

While we did all that, we had water boiling on the stove, then dumped it in a 6 gallon bucket.

We carefully held the duck by the feet and dunked the body into the hot water for about 2 minutes and then hung it back on the fence.

The next step was plucking the feathers, which simply means, put on the gloves and start pulling feathers out of the body. Picked as clean as possible, so when we roast them we won't have any poky feathers sticking out.

By the way this is more fun, when you have friends or family helping, since it is a bit tedious work. 

More hands make light work.

Pressure Washer Does Not work for Ducks!

What? a pressure washer? you mean like a pressure washer I use for my car and tractor?

Yes, we have had success getting the feathers off Chickens but Ducks are another matter.

Seems the feathers stick in the ducks better that chickens, and we have the pictures to prove it. Wait until you see what happened to the duck.  

Can anyone see flying duck parts?

Stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon.

In the Part 2, we'll show you the Cutting it up process

Grow your Own?

Why bother? While there are many reasons to grow your own food or at least source good food in your local area, we find it very empowering to be able to care for ourselves without some corporation trying to feed us unhealthy, poison laden food.

When you grow your own, you know where it has been and what it has been fed.

Growing your own has many benefits so please consider it to some degree.

Urban Agroecoloy: 6,000 lbs of food on 1/10th acre - Urban Homestead

Thank You

The Survival Center Farm Team

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