First hunting fun, then the reward of eatin’ dem ducks

We love hunting ducks. But that is just the start of it. We love killing ducks, but we really love the cooking. There are so many ways to cook them, we can eat them for months. I’ll share a couple of the ways I like to eat dem ducks, but first I want to talk a little about shooting ducks.

Most sportsmen like to shoot the ducks as they fly in over the decoys. That’s okay, but I like to keep still and get that one more pass and get them on the water. That’s the old way.

This is the difference in shooting flying ducks or shooting ducks on the water. I had a couple of old friends that use to sell ducks to restaurants in New Orleans many years ago. They paid good money but didn’t want any BBs in the body to serve to customers. These old hunters would soft call these ducks. When they would land, they waited for them to bunch up. Then they would knock on the blind so the ducks would raise their heads and shoot, getting mostly head shots. The ones with shots in the body they kept for themselves.

Sammy Ponither quotes “it’s best to under call a duck than to over call them.” I love to hunt in this fashion, it’s a challenge and mostly it’s our way of life and a big tradition I’m carrying on.

Here’s the benefits of so called water swatting. I call it head shots. You won’t need any trips to the dentist for a broken tooth, or metal detector to fish out the BBs. It’s a style of hunting I learned from the old hunters.

Now, about cooking dem ducks. My favorite is teal because they taste like a specklebelly. They’ve got just the right texture and are moist and tender. I like to put eight to 10 teal in my old Enamelware roasting pot and roast them whole. I cut up celery, carrots, onions and bell pepper and one whole turnip. That’s the way they did it in the old days. I put in some Worcestershire and two tablespoons of Italian dressing. You can use water or chicken broth and bring it up to the level about halfway up the duck. My secret ingredient is a couple of spoons full of strawberry jelly, or fig preserves. Then I add some homemade roux and mix it all together.

It makes me hungry just talking about it. Ya’ll enjoy!

Editor’s Note: We will be sharing a series of articles from Dale Bordelon, a resident of Effie, La., and owner of Bayou Beast Duck Calls.

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