Hey all,
So I decided to do try something a little different for my last party, so I went with duck. I did lots of research on cooking temps, doneness, time so I can plan out when it would be done.
I picked up the duck at Central Market.. kinda like whole foods but they don't bend you over as much on the price. Around 4 lb maybe, $23.. no idea if its a good deal but it can be hard to find (frozen)
Started with a brine, water, kosher salt, garlic powder, peppercorns, garlic powder, whatever was around. I didn't make the brine that salty, was low on salt, but glad I didn't. Warmed it up to distribute the flavor, put in ice, duck, and into fridge overnight.
The next day I took it out, patted dry, and put back in fridge until the next day when I would smoke it.
Put it on my offset at 220-230 for 5-6 hours, though it all depends on the bird, temp, smoker, ambient weather.
I ended up moving it down to the bottom grate since it was getting a little close to the top of the smoker, causing uneven heating. (I just pulled some tri-tip off which is why the grate is like that).
Now, I 've been reading about rotisserie to crisp the skin, but didn't have a setup, but I did have the motor/rod, so I rigged something up.. I will definitely weld something together for a longer term solution. I won't embarrass myself with a picture, let's just say it involved cinder blocks.
And the finished product. lots of the fat rendered out, so it wasn't fatty, meat was juicy. Skin wasn't potato chip crispy, but wasn't fatty or chewy either.
Will definitely do this again, and work on putting together a real setup. Plus, at less than 7 hours total cook time much better than a full packer.
So I decided to do try something a little different for my last party, so I went with duck. I did lots of research on cooking temps, doneness, time so I can plan out when it would be done.
I picked up the duck at Central Market.. kinda like whole foods but they don't bend you over as much on the price. Around 4 lb maybe, $23.. no idea if its a good deal but it can be hard to find (frozen)
Started with a brine, water, kosher salt, garlic powder, peppercorns, garlic powder, whatever was around. I didn't make the brine that salty, was low on salt, but glad I didn't. Warmed it up to distribute the flavor, put in ice, duck, and into fridge overnight.
The next day I took it out, patted dry, and put back in fridge until the next day when I would smoke it.
Put it on my offset at 220-230 for 5-6 hours, though it all depends on the bird, temp, smoker, ambient weather.
I ended up moving it down to the bottom grate since it was getting a little close to the top of the smoker, causing uneven heating. (I just pulled some tri-tip off which is why the grate is like that).
Now, I 've been reading about rotisserie to crisp the skin, but didn't have a setup, but I did have the motor/rod, so I rigged something up.. I will definitely weld something together for a longer term solution. I won't embarrass myself with a picture, let's just say it involved cinder blocks.
And the finished product. lots of the fat rendered out, so it wasn't fatty, meat was juicy. Skin wasn't potato chip crispy, but wasn't fatty or chewy either.
Will definitely do this again, and work on putting together a real setup. Plus, at less than 7 hours total cook time much better than a full packer.
