# Eating Merganser



## Sansan1337 (Jan 25, 2013)

Shot my first duck/merg on Sunday. I've always been a "You shoot it, you eat it" kind of person. Read all about eating it, couldn't find any positive posts about it...anywhere. Well I enjoyed eating my merg!

Cut into small pieces (1/2" x 1/2")
Cover bottom of pan with olive oil, heat for awhile. Add merg. Let it cook until sides are getting a little over-done. Add in the General Tsao's Sauce (found in Asian foods, I buy mine at Meijer). Stir all the sauce and duck together, BAM! You got yourself a nice meal. No fishy taste at all.


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## warrenwaterfowler (Aug 31, 2007)

I breast them out and put them in a separate bag from the other ducks...when i'm done grilling the other ducks up, i'll throw the merg breasts on the grill...no salt, pepper, or other seasoning of any kind...i'll cook them until they are well done, then let them cool for a minute. then I tell my dog "sit", and he sits...then I say "good boy" and give him his merganzer. he loves it!
_Posted via My Obama Phone_


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## blittle913 (Feb 21, 2007)

warrenwaterfowler said:


> I breast them out and put them in a separate bag from the other ducks...when i'm done grilling the other ducks up, i'll throw the merg breasts on the grill...no salt, pepper, or other seasoning of any kind...i'll cook them until they are well done, then let them cool for a minute. then I tell my dog "sit", and he sits...then I say "good boy" and give him his merganzer. he loves it!
> _Posted via My Obama Phone_


That made me laugh out loud!


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## deadduck365 (Nov 5, 2010)

Feed them to my dog also. She loves it. She Won't touch a scoter though. 


Sent from my iPhone using Ohub Campfire


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## Shupac (Apr 17, 2005)

Haven't shot a merg yet but looking forward to it just to try some spicy chinese recipes with it. We have one that makes river run salmon that are starting to get a little green taste great.


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## Sansan1337 (Jan 25, 2013)

It was good enough that I wouldn't hesitate to shoot a limit of mergs. I guess coots are up next lol.


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## Waz_51 (Jan 10, 2010)

We decided to cook some up a few years back because we felt bad for shooting them and not utilizing the meat... Everybody told us that they'd taste horribly gamey, but we didn't mind it at all... Honestly, it tastes like duck! It did have a little more of an iron taste to it, kinda like venison... My dad said that it reminded him off liver... I have never, nor do I ever plan on having liver so I couldn't confirm that!

I'm guessing that as long as you don't mess it up, it probably won't be that bad! If it's over cooked, I'll bet that it won't taste very good... Obviously, lol...


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## TSS Caddis (Mar 15, 2002)

You couldn't have Merganser Monday without them.


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## Tron322 (Oct 29, 2011)

got my first common merg last fall, boiled it with some squirrel and tossed it in a squirrel soup, the merg breasts were my favorite part...maybe the boiling helps?

all the hooded mergs got mixed in with wood ducks and I could never tell the difference when I can them, grill them, or fry.

Goldeneyes are the only duck I can taste that I don't like, they all go into the canner.


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## pikenetter (Mar 28, 2009)

Sansan1337 said:


> It was good enough that I wouldn't hesitate to shoot a limit of mergs. I guess coots are up next lol.


you will need some sweet baby rays for the coot, other than that its edible


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## vezben (Aug 13, 2011)

Now that's funny right there.



warrenwaterfowler said:


> I breast them out and put them in a separate bag from the other ducks...when i'm done grilling the other ducks up, i'll throw the merg breasts on the grill...no salt, pepper, or other seasoning of any kind...i'll cook them until they are well done, then let them cool for a minute. then I tell my dog "sit", and he sits...then I say "good boy" and give him his merganzer. he loves it!
> _Posted via My Obama Phone_


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## chuckinduck (May 28, 2003)

Shells are too Expensive to waste on lawn darts for me. I love the story of feeding it to the dog. I was thinking the punch line would go "dump the mergs out and eat the bag tho. Lol.


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## mi duckdown (Jul 1, 2006)

soak mergi breast in buttermilk the night before cooking on grill. cook to med rare


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## Lurker (Jan 25, 2009)

coot taste like duck. cook it medium rare.


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## aroflinger (Sep 4, 2011)

Wrap in bacon! Bacon makes everything taste better.


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## Jim58 (Jan 16, 2010)

I like Merganser best when battered then deep fried and served with a side of hush puppies and tarter sauce. Taste even better on Fridays!


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## redneckman (Dec 7, 2005)

aroflinger said:


> Wrap in bacon! Bacon makes everything taste better.


Add bbq sauce and maple syrup too.


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## ducksarge (Jul 3, 2011)

I don't shoot many, but I think they taste just like bluebill. I put them in the crockpot with some potatoes and carrots and onions until tender.


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## DirtySteve (Apr 9, 2006)

loved the story on the feeding to the dog!

last time out my 11 yr old son talked me into letting him shoot a coot. we Fryed it up and it was fine. only complaint was the breast was very small. seemed like it was mostly tougher leg meat.

the best recipe we have for any duck is cut into smaller pieces about 3 per breast. marinate over night in a mixture of 50/50 Worcestershire sauce and your favorite lemon lime soda...we use 7 up. skewer them with small squares of thick cut bacon in between and grill. serve a little rare. I like it with Cajun rice.




_Posted from Michigan-sportsman.com App for Android_


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## PrickerPoint (Oct 6, 2014)

I usually marinade them for at least 24 hours. Then I put them on the grill and put a brick on it, smoosh the meat down really good. Cook one side then flip put the brick back on. When both sides are cooked thoroughly... Throw the meat away and eat the brick.


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