I have never smoked a duck but I would think you would do it the same as a hole chicken or turkey.
hope your wife's recovery goes well and you all have a great Christmas and a Happy new year! Oh and remember pics
they tell me.
I too wish I could help you Solo - but in my attempts to smoke duck I never could keep them lit.
I hope everything goes okay with your wife and you can have an otherwise pleasant holiday together…..
And on the eighth day God created barbecue …. because he DOES love us and he wants us to be happy.
Current smokers: Egor (trailered RF) and Easybake (tabletop pellet drive)
Duck has a layer of fat beneath the skin. You should cook it low & slow to render the fat and then bring the temp up for the last hour to crisp the skin. This all takes place after salting and refrigerating for a couple of days.
If it's tourist season, how come I can't shoot 'em?
Cool, Thanks for the heads up on the early salting Pete I'm going to brine a day early then and just let the bird equalize an extra day in the frig after being rinsed and patted down from the 6 hour brine. My thought was to keep Pops around 225 until the Duck hit 155 and then sprtitz with olive oil and crank things up towards 350 until I hit 170 internal. Man there are a lot of if's and but's with this cook. I'll post pics and y'all can decide if it looked successful.
Around here, if I smoke it we eat it but I'll offer an honest critique on flavor.
This is one of those cooks where a small back yard smoker would come in handy. 1 lonely duck on a 250 rig
If it can't be smoked .... try frying it. It that don't work, it's probably best just left alone
At least throw a couple or 3 pounds of bacon on there so your'e ready for BLT's … just sayin'
And on the eighth day God created barbecue …. because he DOES love us and he wants us to be happy.
Current smokers: Egor (trailered RF) and Easybake (tabletop pellet drive)
Neighbors across the street bought 6 slabs from me today so it looks like the duck may get company. I gotta do some digging and see if I have any spares in the freezer. At least the wood useage makes a bit more sense that way.
If it can't be smoked .... try frying it. It that don't work, it's probably best just left alone
For the record I started with your basic Duck purchased at ALDI's
The following were my brine ingredients
In the event this turns out as good as the brine smelled, here is the breakdown on ingredients
3 Qts Ice Water
4 cubes Vegetable Bullion
1 Qt Chicken Broth (a box)
16 ounces Orange Juice
1 cup Kosher Salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Poultry Seasoning
2 tsp Ground Ginger
I put everything but the ice water in a pot and brought to a simmer for about 15 minutes. I let that cool to room temp and poured over the bird which was already in a brine bag. I immediately added the 3 quarts Ice Water. Now the 6 hour brine is under way. The 6 hours is just a guess but since I do whole birds for 4 hours and this duck is a tad bigger I went with 6.
If it can't be smoked .... try frying it. It that don't work, it's probably best just left alone
OK, so the duck has been smoked and while I failed to grab a pic before the wife carved everything up here is my photo proof.
This bird was very tasty but let me share some observations.
The brine was too intense, maybe back off a bit on the poultry seasoning and add a bit more OJ next time
This bird hit 165 internal after just 2.5 hours at 250. Skin was drawing nicely but there was a lot of fat still there.
I cranked up towards 350 and after about 30 minutes the internal was pushing 195 so I pulled the bird.
I know brining speeds up cook times and that plus the extra fat really through my planned timing off.
Skin was crispy but never developed much color. And I just could not let it stay on any longer.
Lastly when I do the next Duck I will cross score the skin to allow the fat to render off easier and I will keep heat at 225 max.
Sorry for lack of better photos but the meat was delicious and we were hungry
If it can't be smoked .... try frying it. It that don't work, it's probably best just left alone
Of course that was a calorie-free bird too wasn't it?
Sounds like a successful cook though….
And on the eighth day God created barbecue …. because he DOES love us and he wants us to be happy.
Current smokers: Egor (trailered RF) and Easybake (tabletop pellet drive)