Duck Smoking Chronicle

A

alden

1,000+ Posts
Wanted to smoke a duck for the first time.

Picked up two frozen ducks from the Longhorn Meat Market. This place rocks.

Thawed them out.
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Apparently already brined. Didn't want that, but whatever. Less work for me to do.

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I took out all the guts, and rinsed and dried them. Also found something inside labeled "orange sauce". Interesting. They kinda look like elongated chickens, but with the neck skin still on.

I cut several slits with a razor, each about 1" long, and 1" apart. This is supposed to help render the fat. Something about this feels wrong, but it's better than the traditional method of boiling the duck. Boiling has no place in the cooking of my meats.
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Went ahead and applied a rub, since I'll have to start this at the crack of dawn tomorrow, aka 9am. Kosher salt, black pepper, and paprika. Not sure if this was a good idea or not. Hopefully it doesn't make it too salty.

To be continued.
 
Stood one up in a beer can, and left the other breast side up (fat cap up for those who speak brisket).
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We'll see which one is better!

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Wait at least 3 hours.

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Pulled them out when the thermometer registered a little under 170F. USDA recommends 180, but I've heard 165 is fine.

They turned out about the same, but there was still a lot of fat on both. Once you peel off the fat, the meat below was tender, moist, and yummy. One I put in the over at 500 for 10 minutes to try and crisp the skin. Somewhat of a success. This one was a little more well done (it's apparently difficult to dry out duck), but many spots had a crunchy skin.

Apologies for no "money" shot, but the eating that ensued was ferocious. All that's left is this:
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Also made this:
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There were a ton of drippings that I saved that were awesome for dipping pieces in. Also saved the carcasses for making stock. There wasn't much smoke flavor in the actual duck. Maybe that's because I was using hickory and I'm growing immune to that smell, or maybe the fat blocks the smoke. Next time I might try smoking tea leaves though.
 
Thanks for posting this, I've been wanting to try smoking a duck ever since I had some ridiculously fabulous BBQ duck at Emeril's NOLA restaurant in New Orleans last year. Anything you would do differently a second time?
 
So I realized that duck meat is easier than chicken since it won't dry out, but crisping the skin is more difficult.

Things I might try differently next time, some of which are just different experiments::
Pull off the smoker a little sooner, maybe at 160F, before throwing in the oven to crisp the skin.
Try a different type of wood, or use more of it.
Air drying the duck in the fridge overnight (supposed to help with crisp skin)
Worrying less about the rub, which seemed to not make any difference.
Poking a bunch of small holes in the skin for the fat to drip out instead of knife slits.
Making it beer-can style, but throw some more spices in, like maybe some whole peppercorns.
Finally, I'd like to smoke it with tea leaves, which is the more traditional Asian way. Not sure when, if ever, I'll open this can of worms.
 
Awesome post. It's been something I've wanted to do for awhile but was never sure what the results would yield. I might give it a try some time, but it sounds like there wasn't a whole lot of smoky flavor imparted into the duck. What about quartering the whole duck, then smoking it?
 
Outstanding post. I love these threads. What was the temp of the smoker? I would definitely try drying it in the fridge. I have used those supposedly 'prebrined' turkeys, but I still brine them. Never had any trouble.....always very most and never too salty. I brine the turkeys in apple juice, honey, brown sugar, salt and regular sugar. It be it would be great with the duck.
 
Excellent post- I've never tried duck on my WSM- but will have to someday. Is there anything that can't be smoked/ grilled without great results on the WSM?

Did you coat the skin w/ any type of oil? I usually use a light coating of olive or canola oil w/ a similar dry rub- plus I usually put some butter b/t the skin/ breast - when I do chickens and turkey. Usually get some crisp skin- though some if prone to char a little too.
 
dlatin,
Not sure what to compare it to. It's totally different than chicken: way more intense. The flavor turned out awesome, and it was devoured by all. It was slightly different, but as good as Chinese BBQ duck I've had at restaurants. I just need to figure out Din Ho's dipping sauce (mostly drippings, but that's not exactly it).
 
Hullabelew,
Smoker was steady at 225 from the lid thermometer.
You've convinced me to try a sweeter fruity brine next time, followed by a drying session. So much to BBQ, so few weekends.
 
LosIllini,
There's only a few meat dishes I don't smoke or grill, and those are dutch oven items. I should say, I haven't smoked or grilled them YET. Cause I will probably try eventually
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I didn't coat the skin with anything except the rub. I'm not sure how adding more butter or oil would affect the skin. With chicken it helps keep the skin from drying out (or am I misunderstanding the mechanism?). The duck skin is already super fatty, and glistening when I checked on it. The concern is usually getting rid of the fat, since as long as there's a layer of fat the skin won't render. I'm not saying coating with oil wouldn't help, I'm just not sure why it would.
 
BTW, how did you do the tomatoes? After last weekend of eating nothing but ribs, brisket, chicken, turkey, scallops, salmon and quail, I need so veggies...at least before this coming weekend. I'm still kind of dizzy from all of the meat.
 
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