Frankly, this was the first bird I have ever plucked. I recall someone telling how to do it yrs ago. I don't know if I did it the best way.
I took the bird whole, as shot, boiled a large pot of water, dipped the bird whole in the water for a 5 count and proceded to pluck. Leg and neck feathers come out easy. Side breast and wing feathers are much tougher. You need to pluck while it's hot. When it cools, the skin pores tighten back up around the feathers. The tougher feathers will need you to dip again. On the wings, I was able to just dip them alone, working each side separately. It seemed like a lot of work, but I can see it getting easier and it was nice to have the skin. But these wild birds have so little fat that the skin doesn't self baste and get crisp like a store bought farm fowl. I think a rotiserie and a lot of basting with butter would result in some nice skin crispness. The skin is very thin and care needs to be taken when you pull the feathers or you'll tear the skin like I did on one side.
