A friend texted me on Thursday night to say her husband who is a farrier had been given two ducks and a couple of geese by a customer. She would not let him bring them into the house ! She asked if we would like a couple, another friend Lynn had already said that she would take two.
So, this morning found me and Lynn up to our arms in feathers, you would not believe the mess, and Lynn up to her arms in other things that I can not mention...
We googled 'How to pluck a duck' and found a short film on YouTube where an American guy showed us exactly what to do, although we did find it a bit disturbing when he kept saying to lick your thumb to get a better grip on the feathers, yuck !.....
So we plucked, gutted (Lynn did that bit !) and cleaned, and three hours later we had four prepared birds.
Look at Hebe watching Lynn doing the gory bit !...
They look a bit battered and bruised in this picture, not sure if that is normal or not...
Funnily enough neither of us could face eating them today, so we wrapped them in freezer paper and have put them in the freezer for another day...
I can think of better ways to spend a Saturday morning, but the sense of achievement of doing something that neither of us had done before will stay with me for a long while....
Lol! I remember plucking pheasants when I was 15 and worked as a washer-upper in a hotel! I was terrified but soon got the hang of it! This post made me chuckle xx
ReplyDeleteWe sometimes are given a brace of pheasants and I had my Mum in fits of giggles the first time I tried to pluck one. Thanks for making me laugh at the memory.
ReplyDeleteGillx
LOL, what an accomplishment. My hat is off to you. Quite the endeavor.
ReplyDeleteoh dear me - you brave brave brave ladies -
ReplyDeletelast week we had to execute the departure of two of our chickens - they are now buried in the garden under a cross - I just couldn't cope with the thought of plucking and 'other stuff' then eating what had once been running around my back yard.
Well done! I don't think I'd be very god at that, it looks so fiddly and difficult to get the feathers off! Lke the photo of Hebe watching intently! :) x
ReplyDeleteWell done! I was brought up by vets and we ate our own chicken, turkeys, sheep and cattle........but I'd not sure I'd be able to bring myself to pluck a duck. Juliex
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