Duck cooking questions

Last night I deep fried some duck drumsticks. They were good but really tough and sinewy. Is there anything I can do to help with that?

Also, tonight I grilled some duck breasts. When I placed them on the very hot fire, they immediately contracted up. I kept them rare and they were juicy and delicious. The skin I left on was like rubber though. In this video the guy cuts through the skin like butter. How do I get it like that? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBWPnN4YbiY

Also, I brine my ducks but I know some people put their game meat in milk. Does that work well for duck?

Score the skin on the duck breast with your knife it will make it a lot better and not tough and chewy look up meateater Steve rinella on Facebook he posted how to score it
Personally my favorite way is duck poppers and I use apple cider vining are to marinate them

Who doesn't like (fill in protein) popper?

Jbell99, how long do you marinate them in the vinegar?

I came up with a way that even die hard duck haters like.
Pluck feathers off the breast. Use shears to cut the breast off the duck. You will have bone on one side and skin on the other. Freeze in water until you want to cook them. Thaw them out and filet off the bone and remove the skin. Put the meat in a bowl with cold water and change out the water when it gets bloody. Do this until there's very little blood still coming out, about 24 hours. Then cut each filet into 3 or 4 pieces about 3/4" wide. Put them in a bowl and pour raspberry chipotle sauce over them to cover and marinate over night. When you are ready to grill take each piece of duck and put a piece of pepper jack cheese on it and roll it up in some good bacon, Toothpick it and grill over a med hot fire turning at least once. Do not overcook, you want the duck med rare, so a fairly hot fire and turning them so the bacon gets done.I have a wild game feast every year and people tell me all the time this is their favorite thing there.

Prick the skin to render the fat from the skin. I don't like any brining unless I'm making jerky, it changes the flavor of the duck. Just throw them in you garage fridge belly up for a few weeks before you clean them and they will taste great.

I've also dry aged them after they were cleaned. Kept them uncovered in the fridge, belly up, for a week. They were excellent, very tender. Brining works good on stronger tasting ducks. Tames the gamey taste a bit.

Breast with skin on. Coat with olive oil, salt and pepper. Heat skillet to high. Cook 1.5-2 min per side. 1 min before removing from heat, throw in a chunk of butter, coat breast with melted butter. No marinating, brining or dry aging needed. Simple as that.

1 hour in Dales marinade. 3 minutes each side. Done

I skin them, filet the breast, beat thin with a meat mallet, soak overnight in seven-up (or your choice of soft drink works), place thin slices of red and green jalapeno peppers on them, roll them up, wrap in bacon, pin with toothpicks, and grill them over wood fire using your favorite wood. Mesquite works great. Take them off and slice into 1/2" -3/4" pieces.
First time I had them I thought they were some type of tenderloin, they were so tender and tasty.
Wife says anything with bacon is great.....LOL