Being that I live in Louisiana, I too cook a lot of wild ducks and geese. I have only cooked domestic ducks a couple times. the flavor is definitely milder. One rule though....it's either hot and fast and not past med. rare, or long and slow so the meat breaks down. Ducks are tough birds. The breast meat is dark and the flavor can be strong depending on food source. I actually prefer to grill whole birds rather than smoke them unless I am smoking ducks for soup or gumbo.
Here is a great recipe that gets rave reviews...
Another pic.
Orange Glazed BBQ'ed duck:
1. Pluck the entire duck remove guts, wings, and legs below the knuckle singe off hair.
2. Marinade duck in 1/4cup Soy Sauce, 1 TBSP minced Garlic, 1/8 cup brown sugar, and 1 cup Orange Juice over night. (ingredients per duck)
3. Take a small pot put it on the stove on a med/low heat add 1 cup orange marmalade jelly, 2 cups orange juice, 1/4 soy sauce, and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Reduce until it coats the back of a spoon.
4. Light your BBQ with Indirect heat meaning your heat should be to one side or the other, your ducks will not be directly over the fire.
5. Stuff your ducks with what ever oranges are in season. Place ducks on the BBQ add your favorite smoke and keep an eye on them, with all the sugar they will burn if you don't watch them. Baste with the Sauce you made in your pot. It should take depending on your fire, anywhere from 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours. When it's done chow down.
Note: this recipe is for wild ducks, for a domestic duck the time will be longer. I cook to 140* and let the temp rise to 145* on wild duck. If you feel the need, cook domestic duck to 160*.
