Duck!

[Claire]

Today I am putting a duck on the charcoal grill (remember when it was easy? You said "Barbecue Pitt" and everyone knew what you were talking about!). I love duck, but won't cook it inside, since my circa 1900 kitchen has no exhaust fan and duck gets pretty smokey. Anyway, I haven't really decided how to season the birdie and it's been awhile since I cooked one (on my little smokey joe weber, in Lafayette, LA, when we were on the road in a trailer .... it was actually very funny, because we were on a lake shore and a bunch of ducks came up on shore to watch us. Kinda creepy when you think of it!). Any advice would be nice. I'm thinking of halving it (or better yet getting my husband to butterfly) then piercing the skin a bit to help the fat to dissipate. For seasonings I'm thinking of my regular poultry combo of sage, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme. But if anyone out there can come up with something by mid-afternoon that sounds good to us, I'm willing to try something different.

[Uncle Bob]

Sounds good Miss Clair....I would only say..don't over cook... Make a stock out of the carcass/trimmings, and you'll be on your way to Smoked Duck & Andouille Gumbo!!

Have Fun & Enjoy!

[justplainbill]

Are you going to put a drip pan under the bird and cook covered with charcoal around the perimeter (indirect heat)?

[Kayelle]

Anyway, I haven't really decided how to season the birdie and it's been awhile since I cooked one (on my little smokey joe weber, in Lafayette, LA, when we were on the road in a trailer .... it was actually very funny, because we were on a lake shore and a bunch of ducks came up on shore to watch us. Kinda creepy when you think of it!).

Thanks for the mind picture.

[howzit]

I happen to love duck too. I cook mine on the BBQ's rotisserie. It unly takes about 45 minutes to an hour to cook a whole bird. I slice the skin and/or fork it all over to assist in draining the fat. No spices are necessary, make a sauce of equal parts honey and orange juice (also great to mash in a fresh orange to get lots of pulp) and spice with nutmeg and cloves to taste. Brush the sauce liberally on the duck before serving (if you halve the duck and leave the halves on the grill, the sauce will turn a beautiful golden brown) and serve up the unused sauce in a gravy boat or something similar. I'm getting hungry just writing this....

[Loraco]

Yum we just did duck on the weber on Sunday!!

[kylie_oo]

Slow cook with plumb sauce

[Harry Cobean]

duck is sooooo good i would keep it simple.prick it all over to let the fat drip out,rub it all over with tons of mashed garlic,inside too,salt,pepper then roast,bake,smoke,grill whatever.
other way i do it is....as above but instead of garlic etc mix some chinese five spice powder with honey & slap that on before cooking and add more during cooking.gets it that peking duck type flavour & nice crispy brown skin.....drooooool!

[Skittle68]

I've never tried commercially raised duck- only wild caught, where I don't think you have to worry too much about the fat. I should buy one to make in my new smoker!! I used to think duck was pretty good, but my dad always just fried it up with salt and pepper. It was probably way overcooked, as it was sort of rubbery. He always did like to cook things to death.

[CWS4322]

Originally Posted by Skittle68

I've never tried commercially raised duck- only wild caught, where I don't think you have to worry too much about the fat. I should buy one to make in my new smoker!! I used to think duck was pretty good, but my dad always just fried it up with salt and pepper. It was probably way overcooked, as it was sort of rubbery. He always did like to cook things to death.

Domestic duck tends to be much fattier than wild. I have only eaten mallard. We baked ours (breasts and legs) in cream of mushroom soup with red wine added. It was very moist...miss duck-hunting season.

[Hoot]

I have only cooked duck one way: in a dutch oven at Rendezvous.
I told the tale when I first joined D.C.
The particulars are here:
The Tale of Hoot's Rendezvous Duck
It was mighty good and there weren't nary a bit of it left over.

[redfish_33]

You could try filleting the breast off and grilling them to med rare. The rest of the duck can be roasted and turned into a great stock. All the fat that is rendered from roasting a duck is great to save and cook with later. Also duck is very rich and goes great with something sweet.

[Skittle68]

What exactly is "rendered fat"? I hear that term a lot in various threads and I don't really know what that means...

[Hoot]

When you cook bacon the fat melts, for example...it is rendered as they say.
Basically, it is melted fat.

[FrankZ]

Rendering basically is taking a tissue (say the duck skin) and melting the fat out and leaving the rest (protein) behind.

Bacon renders its fat when you cook it and then you eat the protein leftover (or send it to me to say thank you for this post).

[Greg Who Cooks]

I like my duck roasted whole. Just prick the fattier parts with a fork to provide an exit path for the fat to dribble out during cooking. I roast them at a lower temperature compared to whole chickens and for a longer time, to get maximum advantage of defatting them.

And the sauce? You had to ask??? A l'Orange!!! A classic recipe!

[Kylie1969]

This is all making me want some duck.....and soon

[chopper]

I make duck for Christmas every year. I stuff it with oranges, season well, and score the duck(cross-cross). I set it on a broiler rack and roast it in the oven. And...I have set off the smoke alarm. :D

[Kylie1969]

Chops that sounds delicious!

Does the skin come up all nice and crispy?

[chopper]

Originally Posted by Kylie1969

Chops that sounds delicious!

Does the skin come up all nice and crispy?

Yes. And the duck stays moist too. :)