Jgraider, those crane brest sliced to about 1/2 " thick and chicken fried are hard to beat.

I didn’t say quail should be under cooked…??

Vacuumed packed a boned out breast to take to a Friend in Mississippi. I had frozen it in his marinade of choice then vacuumed it up. About 6 months later took it to him. The next year he went to Texas on a crane hunt and has a few more times. Guess he liked it.

Shot one once, tasted like a big dove. It was good I'd shoot another one.

I didn't say you said that either. You did lump all birds together and said if you over cook them they will all suck. My point is that upland birds are different than migratory birds, upland should be fully cooked like chicken and taste good that way, migratory birds on the other hand will suck if you fully cook it although health experts will say it should be fully cooked as well.

I guess I wasn’t clear. When I said “if you over cook IT” I was referring to crane and if you try and fully cook crane or roast it like you would other birds Crane will suck.

Quail, pheasant and other upland birds should be cooked to 155 minimum…

Probably one of the most overrated eats I’ve had. Way to much hype

I liked what I've eaten. I couldn't put it up there with a ribeye, but way better than any duck or goose I've had.

Coat with olive oil and use your favorite steak seasoning. Grill to medium rare, you will not be disappointed. My kid is a picky eater and she flat loves them.

Hit the nail on the head. Grain fed duck or Specklebelly goose is better than crane. The best I've had was peanut fed Specklebelly.

I like crane, but it is way overhyped and definitely nowhere close to a ribeye.

Seasoned like a good steak and grilled medium rare, Sandhill Crane is excellent. Yes it tastes like beef steak to me. Closer to a sirloin than a rib eye but with a little milder taste. If you are someone that gets squeamish about eating meat cooked rare to medium rare, It will not appeal to you. To answer your question Jgraider, yes in my experience, it is as good as the hype suggests it is.

Agree with Smokey plus it also makes great chili. Probably would be excellent diced up in a stew but I liked the chili so much stuck with it.

How do you know what they eat? Is this high fence duck hunting?

Not very difficult to figure that out. When you are shooting them in a peanut field or their throat is full of peanuts. Same with a grain field.....It's really not difficult at all and to see someone like you, that has hunted ducks as long as you have, try to make a comment like this just shows how little you actually know about the game you chase.

That is not very nice riverruner. Are you always an A-hole? Just because you shoot ducks in a peanut field, does not mean they been feeding on peanuts all their life. It is a legitimate question, ducks are migratory, those same ducks most likely were feeding somewhere else the week or month before. Even if a duck was feeding same Texas field all season (3 months), would that really change the taste of the meat? I question if it would, but I'm not as smart as you.

I think certain species of ducks obviously tend to eat more grain versus other water plants or crustaceans/invertebrates

I do think it’s hard to know what ducks are eating regularly as they migrate. I think it would take weeks to be able to tell the difference. What flyway they are traveling could be a good indicator.

I appreciate the replies. Have to admit I don't really give a ratsazzz about any duck or goose whether grain fed or not, I was just curious how the experienced guys here like the crane. Shouldn't be surprised that some do and some don't, and some are in the middle. I really appreciate the responses, and I'll probably try and shoot one to try out myself. It will be cooked Med Rare at most.

cast iron, avocado oil and any creole seasoning. light sear

does good also with any cream based sauce.

I’d rather have a nocturnally corn fed mallard over a crane

Filet the breast off the bone. Light coat of olive oil. Season liberally with Montreal steak seasoning. Grill to medium rare. Rest it 4 minutes. Slice thin and sop each bite in A-1. Serve with a salad and a baked potato.

Especially if you over cook it.

Grilled it and was good, friend chicken fried it and wasn't a fan. I think an acorn fed mallard or woodduck is pretty good, too

I don't know how long it takes a ducks taste to change depending on what it eats but I will say this... the bluewing teal I shoot during teal season (filled with rice, usually coming to marsh after being in rice field) smells way better than the blue wing teal I shoot at the end of the season (not filled with rice, usually shooting teal that have been in the reservoir eating marsh type vegetation for a month or two).

Are you saying the meat smells different? I could see how the uncleaned duck smells different, it will smell like the marsh it just came out of. But the meat itself, cleaned? I would have to do an official smell test before I would draw a conclusion.

Off topic but my comments might lend some clarity. The majority of mallards and pintail that come down the central Flyway are born in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, or the Dakotas. As soon as the crops come off they transition to feeding daily in harvested grain fields. Peas, Barley, Wheat, Soy Beans, Corn (last crop to come off) and further south peanuts, in that order. The daily routine is roost on potholes and small protected water. Leave in the morning to feed in the fields. Loaf in the afternoon on small sloughs. Return to the fields to feed till sundown. Return to roost ponds. Field decoys on dry land in harvested grain fields is how they are predominately hunted. The locals frown on hunting the water and frequently will deny access if you hunt water. The birds have ample food supply in the Ag fields and are putting on fat to migrate. If they have unmolested water to rest on they will stick around till the freeze line pushes them south. Hunt the water and they move on. This pattern holds all the way to Kansas. A little to the west it holds to the Texas Panhandle. Those birds get on grain in September and stay on it till the freeze line pushes them south of big agriculture. Those birds have a higher fat content and are noticeably milder tasting than the mallards I shoot at the southern end of the Flyway. In my part of Texas the best eating waterfowl are wood ducks that are feeding on acorns in flooded timber.
The bulk of texas waterfowlers do not shoot grain fed ducks in Texas. Guy, I hunt up north a couple weeks every year. Yes the meat is not as strong smelling in the grain fed birds. It is the same principle as finishing a calf before butchering and upping the the grade to prime by what you feed it the last 30 days.