Plucking a duck is easier with these tips: remove wings and feet, soften feathers and skin, and pull feathers against the grain. Blanching or using paraffin wax can also help.
Catching a duck, especially one you’ve caught, can be a very satisfying experience. While it sounds difficult, there are a number of tips that make it much easier for you to pluck a duck at home. Practice makes perfect, and you’ll eventually discover which tips and tricks work best for you. It’s best to prepare the duck by removing the wings and feet, softening the feathers and skin, and pulling the feathers right.
A duck should be plucked while still whole, before the organs have been removed. This provides a firmer foundation and gives you more leverage. Remove the wings with shears or a sharp knife as close to the main joint as possible. Poultry also remove both legs before plucking, cutting them off at the first joint. Removing these parts helps make the body more compact and manageable.
You can leave the head on or remove it according to personal taste. Once the wings and legs are removed, be careful of any bone ends as they can be very sharp. Plucking a duck is easiest when it’s at room temperature. Before you begin, prepare all your tools, including a bag to dispose of your feathers. Start by brushing the feathers against the grain they’re growing in because this helps loosen the feathers a bit, making them easier to remove.
Remove any larger feathers first. You can do this by hand, but make sure you don’t grab too many feathers at once, or you could tear the duck’s skin when you pull them out. Gently hold the skin taut when picking a duck and be sure to pull the feathers down and away from the bird. It’s a good idea to wear gloves while doing this to improve your grip and protect your hands.
You can also blanch the duck before plucking to make the feathers fall out more easily. Add a small amount of cleaner to the water to soften the feathers. Keep the water between about 160 and 170 degrees Fahrenheit (71 and 77 degrees Celsius) so you don’t cook or damage the skin. Immerse the duck in the water for only a minute or two at a time, repeating as needed.
If you’re using the paraffin wax method when plucking a duck, make sure you don’t let the wax cool for too long as it will become brittle and crack. You also want to keep the water hot enough to melt the wax but not hot enough to boil or otherwise damage the leather. Once most of the feathers are gone, the remaining feathers are best removed by lightly singing them or removing them with a sharp knife.
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