Advice on smoking a duck

[fivetricks]

So I'm going to take a shot at smoking a duck this weekend. Simple grocery store duck.

Will post pics as they happen

Will be doing it on a gen1 mes30.

What I've gathered so far, please feel free to correct me on any of this

Score the skin, finish skin on broiler. Smoke at higher temps.

That's about the only real concrete stuff I've read.

So, my questions are:

Brine?

What sort of rub? Standard poultry rub or something different?

Should I try.to remove any of the skin fat before cooking?

Any other special treatment?

Thanks all for your help :-)

 

[chilerelleno]

Dry brine with salt and spices/ herbs
Air dry 24 hrs in fridge
Butter base injection to add flavor/fat
Do Not Remove Any Fat, duck is very lean.
***Don't remove fat from under the skin***
***Do trim excess fat and skin from body cavity and neck***
Cook at high temps, 350-375 if possible.
Spatchcock for faster more even cooking.
Yes, you can score and prick the skin
Finish crisping skin in oven or on grill.
I would recommend a 450 to 500 degree oven for finishing the skin.

If it was my duck I would spatchcock, dry brine, inject the breast and thighs, air dry 24hrs, smoke at 350 till the breast IT was 140, finish in a 475 oven and then glaze the skin with my Honey Sesame sauce.

 

[bbqbrett]

I have never made duck so I don't know for sure. On TV I have seen people say you should remove some of the fat and others that did not. Be interested to see what others here say.

 

[zwiller]

Dude, where did you buy duck? Didn't know you could buy it...

Never did one yet but expect to do a few since my uncle found out I'm into smoking and he's a big duck hunter. He normally gives them away... I defer to Chili's suggestions, they sound good. Marianki's talks about curing them and Pops brine comes to mind since duck I've had was never gamey (farmed prolly) but might not work on my uncles might so an aggressive herby rub might be needed. I read juniper berries are good in a wild game rub. Curious what shakes out here.

 

[73saint]

Dry brine with salt and spices/ herbs
Air dry 24 hrs in fridge
Butter base injection to add flavor/fat
Do Not Remove Any Fat, duck is very lean.
Cook at high temps, 350-375 if possible.
Spatchcock for faster more even cooking.
Finish crisping skin in oven or on grill.
I would recommend a 450 to 500 degree oven for finishing the skin.

If it was my duck I would spatchcock, dry brine, inject the breast and thighs, air dry 24hrs, smoke at 350 till the breast IT was 140, finish in a 475 oven and then glaze the skin with my Honey Sesame sauce.

Chile I can’t keep up with all of the recipes you’ve posted that I want to try!!!

 

[WaterRat]

Dude, where did you buy duck? Didn't know you could buy it...

Never did one yet but expect to do a few since my uncle found out I'm into smoking and he's a big duck hunter. He normally gives them away... I defer to Chili's suggestions, they sound good. Marianki's talks about curing them and Pops brine comes to mind since duck I've had was never gamey (farmed prolly) but might not work on my uncles might so an aggressive herby rub might be needed. I read juniper berries are good in a wild game rub. Curious what shakes out here.

I've seen duck at the local grocery stores in my area, usually just a couple in stock next to the rabbit, yup got that too.

As for wild duck vs. store bought... not the same critter. OK they are, but what works for one cooking isn't automatically good for the other. Wild ducks having much less fat than domestics is the big part. Also the species of wild duck is important in how they end up tasting. Speaking of which I think I need to go buy my hunting license ;)

To fivetricks the most important thing with duck of any kind is DO NOT OVER COOK. It can dry out in a heartbeat. Duck should be be served on the rare side of things. Sorry, I haven't smoked one yet to help out more.

 

[chilerelleno]

Most of the better grocer's meat departments will special order whatever you want just be prepared to be charged a premium.
Whole Foods are known to carry duck, so if you've one near you check their meat department.
Check Asian markets too, they love their ducks.

 

[fivetricks]

Thanks for all the tips folks!

Will respond to the rest of the queries in a bit. But gotta ask about the dry brine recipe. The only one I have used is 4:1 sugar salt for smoking fish. I assume it would be different for duck?

 

[chilerelleno]

Thanks for all the tips folks!

Will respond to the rest of the queries in a bit. But gotta ask about the dry brine recipe. The only one I have used is 4:1 sugar salt for smoking fish. I assume it would be different for duck?

Dry brining is only effective on non-kosher birds (kosher birds are salted) and those not labeled as self-basting or otherwise injected with a salt solution.

Kosher salt, regular'ol Kosher salt, but you can use Sea salt too.
You can mix herbs and spices with the salt if you choose to.

Conservatively cover all surfaces, I try to get some under the skin of the breast and legs.
Give it at least an hour or two per pound in the fridge or much longer as when air drying the skin.
If you're going to use a rub or spice mix before cooking try to avoid adding more salt.

Works for beef, pork and other meats too.
I like to do one side at a time for other meats, you'll see moisture pulled to the surface and then slowly be re-absorbed.
Flip and do the other side.

Dry brining just like wet brining locks in the moisture.
You'll see much less drippings from brined meats, so you may want to use use a drip pan with broth and/or a water pan.
When trying to attain crisp poultry skin do not use a water pan.

 

[fivetricks]

Yeah, I went with a 2 part kosher, 1 part mixed herbs, and 1/2 part pepper.

Solid rub on all surfaces sitting on a loosely covered pan for about 16 hours, then 24 hour air dry after that.

Will not apply any rub until I toss into the smoker. Being more of a fish smoker when it comes to dry brine, I'm used to packing it on!

Looking at this duck, my instinct would have been to wet brine for 36-48 hours, pull and dry/air brine the skin for 24, then smoke