Duck Blind Kabobs
Eastern Washington outfitter puts sizzle into the hunt
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By Paul Wait, Delta Waterfowl Editor |
To a man, every hunter in Mike Meseberg's boat had stopped scanning the sky for ducks. For the previous 20 minutes, six men hidden under a boat blind canopy had intermittently watched our host slice fruit, cube meat and spread spices while we kept vigil over decoys bobbing on an eastern Washington lake.
The minute those skewers started to sizzle over the charcoal, mesmerizing aromas from the far end of the boat overtook our collective desire to shoot birds. Some of us pretended to keep hunting, but our attention hung on Meseberg's tantalizingly simple announcement: "The kabobs are ready."
We devoured the flavor of fresh goose meat melded with fresh, locally grown fruit on a stick. Meseberg, who runs the Mar-Don Resort on the Reservoirs Potholes in Othello, Wash., is known far and wide for his duck blind kabobs.
"Some people come to hunt with us just for the kabobs," he said, with a laugh. "Back in the 1980s, we were the only ones doing this, but others are doing it now, too."
Halfway through consuming the first round of kabobs, a pair of teal whistled low over the decoys. No one fired a shot. Most in the group didn't even reach for their shotguns.
"A lot of ducks have been saved over the years by these kabobs," Meseberg quipped.
I believe him. The campfire snack break Meseberg provides is more than worth a missed opportunity or two. The tastes on the willow branch were beyond excellent, and hot food on a 20-degree day warms more than taste buds.
Our host generally uses duck as the main meat, but on this day, he prepared two breasts from Canada geese we had shot in a nearby field the previous day. Often, Meseberg will prepare his duck blind delights using the birds his hunters shot that morning, breasting them right in the boat.
"It's a great way to eat your ducks," he said.
Ingredients list
- Duck or goose breast meat
- Chunked pineapple
- Red apples
- Sweet red onion
- Cheddarwurst
- Bacon
- Seasoning salt
- Lemon pepper spice
- Garlic powder
To prepare a kabob, Meseberg cut goose meat into cubes, sliced up cheddarwurst, bacon, an apple and an onion on a small cutting board. He then whittled a green willow stick to a sharpened point, and began by threading a piece of breast meat, followed by bacon, and then a random selection of the other flavorful pieces from the board until the skewer was nearly covered. He sprinkled each kabob liberally with lemon pepper seasoning, followed by a lighter dusting of garlic powder and red seasoning salt.
The kabobs cooked over charcoal in a square grilling bucket for about 10 minutes, flipping over just once for even doneness on both sides.
Paul Wait is editor of Delta Waterfowl.
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