What FOWL is the TASTIEST?

[AviatorTom]

Following up on "tasty" posts by G@G's resident agriculturalist @purplepoppy...

Which of the following FOWL do think is the TASTIEST?

Chicken

Duck

Goose

Pheasant

Pigeon

Quail

[JacobJordan]

Woodcock or grouse. My personal choices. But as they aren't listed I'll pick the next best thing along with what I consider to be the absolute best way to cook it. Duck: keep it as intact as possible after gutting and cleaning. In a large bowl combine olive oil, minced garlic, diced onions, salt, pepper, a dash of dark chili powder and curry powder, thyme, and sage. Completely cover the duck in your mixture ensuring you get seasoning all over. Add a couple sprigs of rosemary wrap the result in tinfoil (this helps to prevent it from drying out a lot) bake in the oven uncover after about 25-30 minutes continue baking until surface has a decent crispy crust and enjoy. For those wanting a more traditional style same thing but slide a spit through your bird and insert the sprigs of rosemary place over a fire and rotate until golden brown.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

I've yet to try Pheasant and Geese on the list (tried all others) but nothing has ever beaten proper Peking Duck in my experience. I've had it multiple times in Singapore with the most succulent meat and the crispiest skin and it's a serious treat:

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

Pidgeon is one I've generally found disappointing. I've had it even at the fanciest French restaurants and never saw the big deal. I might have just not tried the best preparations of it but each time I've tried so far, I only thought it was okay and nothing mind-blowing.

[Whitewulf]

I have to tell you us hunters call pigeons flying rats. Because of the way they nest all couped up in each others feces and mites in their feathers. It’s red meat like a dove and no different that eating a black bird or sparrow. Super dry and super gamey taste 🤢

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@Whitewulf I would really like to understand what gamey means exactly as far as taste. I have no hunting experience whatsoever and have heard people describing things as gamey but have no understanding whatsoever of what that means. Definitely haven't been so impressed by pigeon though!

[Whitewulf]

The best I can describe it is sometimes when you get a piece of steak and you bite into the fat you will get this fowl taste that you would assume the bottom of his hooves taste like lol fat holds a lot of the animals flavors and toxins depending on how the animal fed will determine the flavor. Most of that stuff we are spared as a consumer purchasing from the store is all eliminated for us.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@Whitewulf Is it kind of like a strong iron taste, like with some organ meats like heart, kidneys, and liver? I hope you'll forgive the questions. I really would love to go hunting with someone and learn some of those survival skills and also learn exactly what gamey tastes like.

[Whitewulf]

Yeah I guess you could say that. There have been times when I was field dressing the bird and for some reason that particular bird just reeked and even after you cook it can’t get that smell out of your head. Yes you should get out there and enjoy the most basic primal thing God gave man, the thrill of the hunt and harvesting our own food. There is no other adrenaline rush like it. I was a guide in Colorado and have taken more big game in my lifetime than most will ever see. And the same goes for them. You want good clean shot and dispatch. You want him to fall straight down and be done. If you make a bad shot and the animal runs, he’s pumping all that adrenaline and blood through his body and when he finally expires he taste like s***. Or If someone makes a gut shot o my lord might as well make dog food out of it. I’ve have deer meat I just couldn’t stomach. I can absolutely live off antelope meat is the best. A lot of hunters don’t like it and most will say elk but I love antelope

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@Whitewulf I'll definitely have to try! It's not so popular here in Japan but I might be able to find a guide the next time I go to the US. It's a very manly skill I always admired; I can fish and clean and gut and cook fish but that's about it.

[Whitewulf]

The biggest thrill of hunting for me is being out there just you and the animal whose senses are ten times as sensitive as yours are that can hear every little branch crack or get a whiff of you if the wind swirls wrong and can see you blink from a half a mile away and you out witted and out smarted that animal it’s exhilarating.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@Whitewulf That does sound very exciting to me. Something I learned recently that was so interesting to me is that while humans aren't so strong relative to other animals, we have the ability to throw things much further than any other animal. Even great apes can't throw things as far as we can; they lack the shoulder anatomy to throw with such great force. I found that incredibly interesting and a sign that we evolved primarily as hunters using tools.

[Whitewulf]

What state do you live in? Once you get hunting in your system you’ll be hooked. I’ve gotten a lot of people into hunting that had never been before. I don’t get to do it as much now that I live in California but even still I have my little hidden hunt that gives me my fix. See I live in town north of Sacramento. And I have a wooded area next to my driveway. And the turkey come through every spring. Spring turkey hunt would be a good starter for you. The toms only thinking about getting laid and gets extremely stupid and careless. Not unlike us men lol. You put two decoys out, make some Chen calls and they come running. I have ruger one break open air pellet rifle with scope. It’s very accurate. One head shot it’s over!

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@Whitewulf I'm from Japan, born and raised, and live here now. Unfortunately we lack the second amendment type of rights that Americans have even though I find a lot of wisdom in it. I lack experience with firearms in general and that's something I'd like to correct the next time I'm in a country that allows me to correct it.

[Whitewulf]

Damn I’m sorry to hear that. Makes me sad actually to hear that. I realize the guns aren’t for everyone but for those who find interests and way to take up shooting whether hunting or target practice or competition they should be allowed. We Americans are fighting to hold to that God given right. What they are doing now ( not to get political) but they are finding any reason to send the *b* to the door and confiscate them. Every one of us has said something about the current POs they call president online. And so one by one. I’ve already had three neighbors have 3am visits where they bust down the door. Only one were there shots fired. But I guarantee I’m on their list I will not live in a place that has no freedom. I’ve prepared my daughter for that day. I will and am ready to die on that hill. When and if shit hits the fan. We didn’t ask for this fight they are going to bring it to our door step and sadly there will be a lot of end of watches. like I’ve always said they can have all my guns but they will have to take all the ammunition first. The fight will be individually because we can’t get people together to even get a parade let alone March. It’s because of how they made am example of the guys on the fake Jan 6th. So people are afraid of being hung out to dry. You think about the numbers though. 393 million legally owned firearms, 77 million gun owners and 50 million registered hunters. Chinas biggest military at 2.6 million. We have 50 million like minded people. Anyway I believe we are going to get to see just exactly what that second amendment was written for. History repeats were about to see 1776 all over again. Maybe if you got into some competition shooting representing your country they would allow you

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@Whitewulf It always seemed to me as though people in favor of gun prohibition obsess too much on the tool used to commit a crime rather than the mental state of the criminal. Here we have the occasional violent crime, but since guns are so prohibited, the most common tools of the deranged psychopath include things like homemade explosives, sarin gas, and cyanide gas. Yet such violent crimes are extremely rare not because guns are prohibited in my estimate, but because most Japanese aren't so mentally ill or lacking in cultural values in ways that would ever tempt vast majority to harm innocent people. We also have a culture that's deeply cooperative with law enforcement; if someone commits a crime, everyone helps the police to catch the criminal.

I will have to look into competition shooting here. If not, I work remotely for an American company and get to go on overseas business trips there from time to time. I might be able to schedule a visit to a shooting range and learn the basics there.

[purplepoppy]

I think chickens popularity is down to it's relative blandness, it's a blank canvass for spices and sauces. But I think unadulterated the duck is far the tastiest.

[mandyfire98]

My dad hunts quail and would fry it like chicken and it was always great.

[ArrowheadSW]

Where does he hunt quail? Does he have a bird dog? Just curious.

[mandyfire98]

There's a hunting plantation he goes to hunt quail.

Yeah my parents have a german short hair.

[PBandJ_Nerd]

Chicken. Never had any other birds besides chicken and turkey.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

Turkey is one I miss a lot being in Japan. It's not popular here but I really enjoy it. We end up eating chicken here for Christmas like this:

But I miss turkey on those days.

[PBandJ_Nerd]

@GuyAnswersGirls123 Christmas chicken doesn't sound too bad honestly. We have ham with pineapple on Christmas.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

That actually sounds really good to me! I love Hawaiian pizza. Chicken tends to be kind of boring to me since I eat chicken (especially chicken breast) more than any other animal protein. So almost anything besides chicken is more interesting to me than chicken for Christmas. 😂

[PBandJ_Nerd]

@GuyAnswersGirls123 We eat lots of chicken too. It's nice that it can be made into anything, so it doesn't feel too bland. I like chicken hawaiian pizza (still has the ham).

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

I'll have to give that a try sometime! Someone suggested to me to try pepperoni and ham together, and that sounds pretty good to me too.

[PBandJ_Nerd]

@GuyAnswersGirls123 Pepperoni, ham, & pineapple pizza.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

Oops sorry, I meant to put pepperoni and pineapple and made a senile goof there. 😅 Although combining all three sounds good to me too!

[PBandJ_Nerd]

@GuyAnswersGirls123 It probably would be.

[Amy10223]

@GuyAnswersGirls123 I thought soba was eaten too? Or is that on New Year's Eve?

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@Amy10223 I believe it's typically New Year. At least my family and my wife's never celebrated Christmas with soba. Having soba on New Year is very common though along with osechi, like this:

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@Amy10223 I think since Christmas is more a Western holiday imported into Japan, most Japanese favor Western-style food on Christmas.

[PBandJ_Nerd]

@GuyAnswersGirls123 I've never seen those foods before. Only thing I can make out is the lobster.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

I never cared for it. It's very traditional type of food so kind of bland and boring as far as seasoning. But I always loved mochi (rice cake) which we always eat on New Year, like this:

It's very chewy and stretchy and fun to eat.

[PBandJ_Nerd]

@GuyAnswersGirls123 I've had mochi ice cream, bubble tea filled mochi, and dango.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

Do you like them? My favorite is always mochi made with shiratamako over mochiko like shiratama dango.

[PBandJ_Nerd]

@GuyAnswersGirls123 Kind of sort of. The dango was colorful but not much was going on with it even with the small amount of sauce it had on it. I had it last year for the first time at the Sakura festival we have over here. One thing I love to get every year there is the yakisoba. It's freshly cooked. But there's a lot of other foods I'd love to try there.

[PBandJ_Nerd]

@GuyAnswersGirls123 I'd like to try the one mochi filled with the red bean paste. I've heard it's sweet and a pretty common staple in japanese desserts. As well as taro flavored bubble tea. But that's something I can find in the grocery store around here somewhere.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

It can be a bit one-dimensional there but actually my favorite is very plain dango with just sugar, no sauce. I think you might enjoy the one with anko more; it adds quite a bit more to it.

Yakisoba is nice! Popular here that I sometimes prefer is yakiudon which is pretty much same thing but using thick udon noodles instead of thin soba noodles.


I miss Western food a lot.

[PBandJ_Nerd]

@GuyAnswersGirls123 That sounds pretty good! Probably would make you full faster because thicker noodles.

[Amy10223]

@GuyAnswersGirls123 I have seen pictures of osechi, it looks very appealing and appetizing. I'm going to Japan in April. I just hope I can survive the long trip. :)

[PBandJ_Nerd]

@Amy10223 You'll survive.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@Amy10223 With osechi, I think it's one of those cases where the food looks visually dazzling but the taste isn't something to miss. 😅 Everything kind of tastes the same and all blends together. Hope you enjoy your trip to Japan! Long overseas flights are also my least favorite part of any vacation. If I can afford it, I like to dedicate the whole first day during which I arrive to just resting and relaxing at the hotel. I'll be hit too hard by jet lag for the rest of the trip otherwise.

[Amy10223]

@GuyAnswersGirls123
That’s my plan! To rest in the hotel at first, but also to sleep on the plane if I’m tired. They say not to sleep before 8:00pm (Japan time) because the jet lag will be worse though.
Honto ni? About osechi. Looks so good.
ジョンと二？ Not Oiishi?

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@Amy10223 Apologies, I am unfamiliar with ジョンと二! Is it a slang to use Jon there instead of ほんとう? I am afraid my Japanese is not as good as someone who spent their whole life in Japan. I've only spent my childhood and adult years and spent my teenage years in other countries, so I'm unfamiliar sometimes with common sayings and slang.

でもほんとう美味しくないんです。(But yes, not very tasty to me)

[Amy10223]

@GuyAnswersGirls123 For some reason the Japanese keyboard I have wrote that first part of “honto ni” in katakana. My Japanese is very limited and I don’t know Kanji yet but I think you also wrote something “shikunain desu”.
It looks so tasty though!

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

@Amy10223 No problem! I was a bit confused for a moment and trying to look up what "Jon" might refer to but that makes sense to me as a typo. My kanji is also admittedly very poor. I think I know around 200 kanji characters whereas the average Japanese person knows several thousand. So sometimes when I encounter Japanese experts who ask me where I'm from and I respond saying, "Japan", they write me an elaborate message in kanji and now I have to explain my weird childhood and how I moved to Singapore, Hong Kong, and the US during my teenage years. 😅

It's a very annoying thing although I've been trying to slowly correct it. I lean on my wife a lot who spent her entire formative years in Japan and a Japanese Literature major to help me read a lot of kanji.

[Whitewulf]

I’ve hunted my whole life and quail are by far the best tasting followed by pheasant and wild turkey. If you know how to prepare them. They are also the stinkiest to clean. The smell will make you GAG! Lol ( this should be a rule that we have to somehow fit the word GaG into every answer) :)

[OfMiceandMen]

We have Ruffed Grouse in our area. It's a treat when I get one on occasion.

I have not had Pheasant or Pigeon before. I have had Quail before and found it similar to Grouse.

I've had all the remaining fowl and they are okay. Chicken is what I typically have most.

[Staximus]

In the early 90's my friend's dad shot some pheasants out in the desert and smoked them in the Traeger. Even with biting down on and spitting out the occasional piece of lead bird shot, it was damn near the best bird I've ever eaten in my life. The best would have to be some chicken kebabs cooked in a wood fire from a Persian restaurant that no longer exists in Hawthorne, California.

[spartan55]

I've tried all of these selections with the exception of pigeon (aka rats with feathers). I've only had pheasant a handful of times and it was soooo delicious.

[Amy10223]

I've eaten chicken, turkey and duck; the rest I have not had. I do like a roasted chicken and duck, but duck has very little meat on it. I like Peking duck.

[Phoenix98]

The tastiest fowl I've ever eaten would probably have to be duck, duck in my opinion has the most flavor.

[BCA6010]

It is definitely quail, no question. I've had all of these except for pigeon multiple times.

[dolemite58]

Pheasant and chicken are prob my faves, duck is ok

[Demonatrix]

I'm on the side of ckicken

[Paris13]

I Am A Chicken Lover. lolxxoo

[DJB72]

I like goose personally

[exitseven]

I like turkey the best ,

[douride2]

I prefer chicken.

[AnusNdaPainus]

Duck is 🔥

[LavLavLuv]

Chikin

[Guido]

I like turkey.

[Anonymous]

Quail.