Great Duck Jerky Recipe

Great Duck Jerky

If you hunt duck, hopefully you are harvesting game. If you are harvesting game we hope you are making good use of your kill. For me personally, I don't much care for roasted or braised duck. I do however enjoy jerky. Below you will read about a recipe I refashioned from another recipe for sea-duck.

I eat a high protein diet and so when I reach for a snack it needs to be simple in terms of what's in it, and usually I try to snack on some kind of meat. I look forward to duck season because with a daily limit of 7 I can pretty much stay stocked up on tasty jerky for snacking all winter long, my friends and neighbors get a pretty good deal too. The recipe here should hold pretty well at room temperature for up to 30 days so long as you keep the salt/water ratios consistent. If you are unsure you can always store the jerky in the fridge which will hold indefinitely.

You can make this duck jerky in a dehydrator but I just use  my oven set to 185 degrees. You can leave the door ajar for circulation or since I have kids in the house do as I do and just open the door for a few minutes every hour or so.

Duck Jerky Recipe

prep: 24 hrs
cook time: 7 hrs

3lbs  duck meat (I used Mallard)
1/4c  Worcestershire sauce
2c     Water
2tbs  Sea Salt
1tsp  Cayenne
1tsp  Garlic powder
1tsp  Thyme
1tbs  Red pepper flakes (optional)
3tbs  Brown sugar


1. Mix together all ingredients except the duck in a large bowl. Slice the meat into 1/4 inch strips. (I prefer long thin cuts that will end up like the strips you see in the containers at the local gas station. the thicker the cut, the longer you will need to cook them.) Add the duck meat and other ingredients to large Ziploc bag. You will want to store this in the refrigerator for 24 hours or longer. Every few hours massage the meat and mixture together to help with absorption.

2. preheat oven to 185 degrees

3. Remove the duck meat from the bag and pat dry. This is important, make sure you completely dry out the meat before placing on the rack. place a wire rack over a baking sheet to protect your oven from drippings. Lay the strips of duck meat across the wire rack with a little room between each strip. Remember to open the oven door to vent every hour or so or just leave it ajar. Cook for 7 hours or longer depending on the cut. Meat should be completely dried out but still pliable.