Ok, so I finally did it. And I will tell you, the only way to eat ringer is jerky style!! I used:

Hi Mountain Jerky Cure - Original Blend

And I followed the direction exactly, I even weighted my meat to ensure I did not over or under season. The only thing I did different is time, the directions said like 1.5 hrs 200 degrees, I used my big berral smoker for about 4 hours due to long periods of real low heat.

I did about 4 lbs of ringer and about 4 lbs of puddle duck (gadwall, widgeon, and pintail) and kept them separate. I tooks pics of the whole cooking process, but not sure how I did it, but I deleted all the pics . Too many beers I guess. Just got these pics when I was done, got me a bag of puddle ducks (left bag A) and ringer (right bag B):



Did me a lot of tests with folks to see which they like more, most did say they liked the puddle duck better, but namely they said because it we less salty (spicy), this is probably because the ringer strips were a bit smaller than the puddle duck, pic below show some puddle duck (top) ringer (bottom):



Nice batch of Jerky tho...




I will also say I took more care cooking the puddle jerky and kept it in the prime spot in the smoker. I just did not expect the ringer jerky to come out so well. Next season all my ringer will go to jerky, we are gonna put the hurt on some ringer next season!!

cool!

I just got a new smoker for my birthday, may have to make some jerky next weekend with the duck that's left in the freezer.

Cooked pork ribs, leg quarters, and duck sausage today.

Dang. You still have duck meat?
I've tried doing that to ringers in a dehydrater thing (a gift that I rarely use) a few yrs ago. Couldn't get the recipe down right. Think that I made catfish bait out of it or gave it to the dog.
It is a good idea.

Nice job I love me some duck jerky! I also have a hard time keeping duck meat this long into the offseason. I guess I need to shoot more ducks

Hey Guy, 4 hours didn't over-smoke the meat? I've cut my smoke down to 1.5 to 2 hours and then finished in the dehydrator. Maybe I'm running more smoke through it...

Looks good!

1) I kept a well burning fire with all vents open, so less smoke. I chopped wood into small prices, this helps. And when I adedd wood, I waited till it was burning good before I shut the lid to the fire box.

2) I used pecan wood, it is much milder than your other woods.

I made some this year too since everyone said it wasn't really good for anything else. Turned out pretty dang good.

I have a bunch of duck and goose I need to do something with,,,

C-H-I-C-K-E-N F-R-Y

May have to try jerky since everyone is talking about it so much.

Good point on the light smoke, Guy. What I usually do it try to keep the smoker around 200-225, and smoke for about an hour. Then finish in the oven as low as it will go til it's as crispy as you like. If I leave it on my smoker, the smoke starts to taste acrid.

I also slice mine super thin, almost see through.

Remember, that hi-mountain doesn't totally preserve it, you still need to keep it in the fridge or freezer. Good stuff tho!

Yeah, I think I will finish in the oven next time. How long will it stay good in the fridge? I ended up freezing the ringer jerky, we are still gnawing on the puddle duck batch.

Tried some out of a Can last year, don't think I will try a ringer in the near future.

Hey guess what, I found the pix, somehow they got filed under 2006.



Puddle duck on the left, ringer on the right..




Keep fire small, burning good..



Temp good..


ringer on top, cooked a little faster...


All done, ringer in the back, puddle in the front.