i skinned out a mallard today and put it on the wheel. All went good until i got around the anal area. Next thing i know i have opened a couple of small holes while trying to get the fat off. This was a very late season and fat bird. It had been in the customers freezer for about a year before i got it. So i get as much off the back end without ripping anymore. Next i went to wash and as the water was running on the bird and i was washing the whole back of the bird softly ripped off like the skin was paper thin. My main question is weather or not this is normal and is there anything i can put on the skin before fleshing to take care of this problem. This happens quite a bit on the mallards that i work on, so i have a feeling that i am doing something wrong. I have a very soft wheel. Is it possible that this bird was freezer burned in the fat area and it made the skin rotten or what? Any help would be great.
Thanks
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Ryan, I put the mallard and the Wood Duck on the top of my list as the two thinnest skinned ducks. Canada Geese as well have a soft fat layer, followed by some of the thinnest skin created by God! So to answer your question. No you don't have a special situation with your Mallards. No one likes doing a big fat "Park-Duck", and we all wish they had skin like a Turkey, but unfortunately, they don't. I do know that a spray bottle with a subtle mist of water helps the fat leave the skin. due to the difference in the specific gravities of water and fat, they kind of repel from one another. Eventually you'll get a feel for it. Take it slow, keep the skin moving, and give it a small spritz of water when the skin gets a little dry. Good luck!
Also the question about the skin tearing while washing. When the skin is de-fatted, it is at it's most vulnerable point. The weight of the water in the warm soapy solution probably tore your skin at a stress point. I just did the same thing myself to a Gadwall. I took great care in fleshing, and quite honestly, I'm pretty proud of my fleshing. Well anyhow, I was washing the bird, and while lifting it out of the bath, I didn't cradle it well enough, and it tore right up the incision line up to the neck following that very thin skin in the center of all ducks. It can also tear at a feather tract following the feather butts like a zipper.
i also took what i comsidered great care while fleshing except on the back end.
is the worst place, it's so thin. I like to use the spray bottle to keep the skin wet while defatting, it helps move the fat away and also acts as a lubricant to keep the wheel from catching. One thing to try is to just knock off the fat until you see the tip of the feather root then move on. get the rest of the bird done and wash it. I use a fingernail brush and scrub the skin. If it doesn't come clean take it back to the wheel. It is a little more time consuming but not as much as it will take to sew up all the holes.