Duck????

[Claire]

Hmmm, interesting that I couldn't figure out where to put this. It is by no means wild game (very domestic, in my very limited small-town grocery store freezer), but it isn't chicken or turkey either.

That said, I'm putting a duck on the Weber tomorrow. My husband wants the breasts for dinner and the legs frozen for cassoulet some time this winter.

But I haven't cooked a duck in 15 years. I won't cook one inside. My 1854 house does not have an exhaust fan and, well, if you've cooked a duck you know, lots of fat and lots of smoke. But it has been many years since I "did" a duck. I'm planning on halving it, and I'm assuming indirect heat. I'm planning on building up the heat on the coals, then quick grilling veggies for what my family knows as "Claire's ratatouille", that is to say, I slather eggplant, zuchinni, onions, and a red bell pepper with olive oil, take them off the grill, then do the meat.

Any hints on the duck -- seasoning, methods for a weber, etc., truly appreciated.

PS, story about the last time I did a duck follows.

 

[Claire]

The great duck cookout story is that it was on a lake outside of Lafayette, Louisiana. It was our "on the road in a trailer" years, and friends had come out from San Diego to spend Christmas with us. I'd decided to put a duck on the grill that the campground provided. What was very funny is that .... my duck was strictly a grocery store, domestic duck. But we were sitting around, squelching the flames that the fat made as it hit the coals, and ducks (mallards and woods) started showing up. Waddling from the lake and walking in from the area around us. Giving us beady-eyed looks. We were laughing like crazy, but it had the makings of one of those 70s type horror movies (which made us laugh more). The ducks are coming to get us, to get revenge for killing one of theirs.

 

[Mad Cook]

The great duck cookout story is that it was on a lake outside of Lafayette, Louisiana. It was our "on the road in a trailer" years, and friends had come out from San Diego to spend Christmas with us. I'd decided to put a duck on the grill that the campground provided. What was very funny is that .... my duck was strictly a grocery store, domestic duck. But we were sitting around, squelching the flames that the fat made as it hit the coals, and ducks (mallards and woods) started showing up. Waddling from the lake and walking in from the area around us. Giving us beady-eyed looks. We were laughing like crazy, but it had the makings of one of those 70s type horror movies (which made us laugh more). The ducks are coming to get us, to get revenge for killing one of theirs.

"Revenge of the Killer Mallards" starring Duck Van Dyke and Faye Duckaway

 

[GotGarlic]

"Revenge of the Killer Mallards" starring Duck Van Dyke and Faye Duckaway

 

[Andy M.]

Hi Claire. Water and/or a layer of veggies in the bottom of the roasting pan should cut way down on smoke.

I'd put the duck on a rack and roast it over indirect heat @ around 400ºF until it's cooked medium.

I think I'll be doing the same thing as I want to make a cassoulet too.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Yum...Duck! Maybe Frank will chime in, he has experience in cooking duck. I've had it once and it was a half breast I pan-fried.

Apparently Andy has cooked duck, too!

 

[Andy M.]

...Apparently Andy has cooked duck, too!

Yup! Roasted them whole, pan fried breasts, broke down a whole duck and cooked the parts. They make a great stock and save the fat!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I am a fan of duck fat now...I used the fat I rendered for cooking eggs the next day, YUM!

 

[GotGarlic]

I've made duck breasts, too, and there was very little smoke because I cooked it over medium heat in a saute pan. I scored the skin and fat, but not the meat, and placed them skin side down in a film of oil. I let them cook for at least 15-20 minutes, pouring off the fat occasionally, until most of it was rendered and the skin was crispy. Then I put them in the oven at maybe 350 or 375 for 15 minutes or so till they were medium-rare. Delicious! And yes, save the fat!

 

[Rocket_J_Dawg]

Maybe Weber themselves can help. One of the guys up at our marina did this recipe a couple of months ago. Man, did it smell good. We all own Webers.

Hoisin Barbecued Duck from Weber Grills and Accessories

 

[taxlady]

Claire, the duck may not be as fat as it was 15 years ago. I quit cooking goose partly because they weren't nearly as fat any more. I don't really know about the duck - just guessing.

 

[Mad Cook]

Yup! Roasted them whole, pan fried breasts, broke down a whole duck and cooked the parts. They make a great stock and save the fat!

Duck fat makes fabulous roast potatoes.

Incidentally, I use one of those turkey baster things to suck up the fat from the roasting tin from time to time (and save it, of course) as the cooking goes on. It stops it burning and the kitchen filling with smoke. I think I got this from Delia Smith.

Chap on television a couple of weeks ago suggested boiling the duck and then finishing it off in the oven but I've never tried this.

 

[Claire]

You know what gets to me ... out of the blue, after reading all this advice, I remember that in a 20 minute drive is a place that specializes in wild birds. I've actually bought smoked or not birds from then, but it was a decade or more ago. Why am I doing this when I can buy it from them? Oh, well. I think it is because my husband just likes the thought that I did it, but I'll remember it in the future. I think the place is called something like Wild Wings,and if I can figure out how to do a link, I will.

 

[Aunt Bea]

When I was a kid my Grandmother used to make duck with sauerkraut in the fall or winter.

Just a duck, whole or in parts, with a pound or so of rinsed kraut, chopped apple, chopped onion, caraway seeds, a bay leaf or two and a little apple cider or white wine. Roasted at 350-375 for an hour and a half.

 

[Addie]

"Revenge of the Killer Mallards" starring Duck Van Dyke and Faye Duckaway

It is 5:30 am. Just what I needed to wake me up. And to think I joined this forum voluntarily.

 

[vitauta]

good to see you again, claire. now i've got duck on my mind, mmm....

 

[Hoot]

When I first signed up here at D.C., I told a tale about my first time cooking a duck.
Learned a lot that day.
Cooking a Duck at Rendezvous

 

[taxlady]

When I first signed up here at D.C., I told a tale about my first time cooking a duck.
Learned a lot that day.
Cooking a Duck at Rendezvous

I remember that story. It was worth reading again.

 

[FrankZ]

I cook duck in the house and the smoking isn't a problem. Our exhaust fan is more of a nice idea than a real workhorse.

One of the things I do is start out at 300 and let the fat render. It doesn't smoke at this temp. Flip it every hour and let it run into the drip pan.

Once most of the fat is rendered you can crank it up and crisp it up. That sorts the smoke issue.

We almost picked up duck this weekend. Hmm... soon.... soon....

 

[PrincessFiona60]

If you don't want the duck to smoke, don't give it a lighter...