# One year old drakes too old to butcher???



## earthkitty (Mar 3, 2011)

So I learned my lesson with the chickens; one year old rooster is like eating a tire. I have two one year old guineas in my freezer that I am wary of eating due to aforementioned tirebird.

Now I have at least three one year old drakes that no one wants, Indian Runners and Khaki Campbells.

Is a one year old drake too old to butcher? 

And I don't even really understand this whole bird butcher thing. When you go out and shoot a wild turkey or goose or duck or pheasant, you don't know how old they are. Do people who bird hunt sometimes get yummy youngsters and other times get crappy tire birds???

I do not want to kill more of my birds just for marginal "yes, I can swallow this and call it food" kind of meat.

I was only supposed to have two drakes and was sent five. Now I have at least three that need an alternate reality.

Lord have mercy this bird raising/killing/eating thing has a steep learning curve. *sigh*


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## LibertyWool (Oct 23, 2008)

I like to cook my duck low and slow, so I don't have trouble eating older ducks as long as they are in good flesh (ie, not skin and bones).


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

If nobody wants them, your choices are to butcher and eat or else kill and toss out with the garbage.

Rest the meat longer than for a young bird. Cook low and slow. Or de-bone and grind into burger. The meat will be delicious, but needs a different cooking method.


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## earthkitty (Mar 3, 2011)

Hmmm...duck burgers. Actually sounds good! Thanks.


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## BobbyB (Apr 6, 2009)

I used to kill em for my Mom and she baked them with dressing. Pekins 2-3 years old. Fat and juicy, fall off the bone good. :rock:


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Did you age your old rooster? An older bird should be left to rest in the fridge for 2 to 3 days before freezing or cooking. When cooking an older bird it's best to be done in a pressure cooker or crock pot or as a roast bird. As a crock pot or roast bird the temp should be on the lower setting and cook the bird a few hours. I do mine in the crock pot on the lowest setting until the meat starts falling off the bone.

I've cooked old Muscovy drakes. Still as tender as the young ones but the flavor is stronger. They were harder to kill though.


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## earthkitty (Mar 3, 2011)

Danaus29 said:


> Did you age your old rooster? An older bird should be left to rest in the fridge for 2 to 3 days before freezing or cooking. When cooking an older bird it's best to be done in a pressure cooker or crock pot or as a roast bird. As a crock pot or roast bird the temp should be on the lower setting and cook the bird a few hours. I do mine in the crock pot on the lowest setting until the meat starts falling off the bone.
> 
> I've cooked old Muscovy drakes. Still as tender as the young ones but the flavor is stronger. They were harder to kill though.


Yep, aged him three days in the fridge before roasting. The guineas I'll do stewed in the crock pot, or low in the oven in the covered roaster, maybe.

That dumb rooster was honestly the meanest bird on the planet. We even separated him from his hens for several weeks before butcher; he just had way too much testosterone. 

I know he was getting his last laugh at us up in birdy heaven, watching us trying to eat a rubber chicken.

And what do you mean, harder to kill?


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

Muscovies are very large and strong, I imagine they would be harder to handle when they are mature. 

I've done older drakes, the meat was ok, but I roasted it. It would have been better to crockpot it. My DIL does even her ducklings in the crockpot for convenience, then shreds the meat off the bones and uses it in dishes with sauces, etc. I thought it was beef. 

Your Runners and Campbells are hardly worth butchering to roast when they are babies, they are pretty small. However, do them all, skin them and crockpot them for shredded meat and it might be worth the trouble. Ducks are a pain to pluck - about three times as much work as a chicken, because of the down feathers. I'd be tempted to dispatch them and discard or find someone that feeds their dog raw foods to take them. Roast duckling is very good though. 

When someone hunts birds, they don't know if it is a duckling or a mature bird and have to know how to cook tough gamey meat to make it good. My grandpa could make wonderful casseroles out of game birds. Also, you can tell some when you butcher - the fat in ducklings is much lighter color than the fat in a mature bird, for instance. 

I say do it and learn. For two people doing three of them in one day is doable.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Their necks are harder to break and they are a bit more difficult to catch and handle.


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

Incidentally, if you do shredded meat, duck tacos are really superb. Especially if you can get some fresh avocado to go on them.


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