Christmas Duck - Not your ordinary bird

SoloQue · Post by **SoloQue** » December 21st, 2013, 12:52 pm

Well, my Illinois Christmas plans came to a screeching halt last Saturday when my wife ended up in the hospital for some unexpected tedious surgery. Long story short, while it's very good that we live near quality health care our Christmas travel plans have been cancelled as her recovery begins. While doing some distraction puttering through the freezer this week I found a duck I bought a few months back that had found its way to the bottom of the bin. Since it's just gonna be the 2 of us I figured this was a opportune time to give a go at smoked duck. Anyone out there ever smoke one of these fowl cousins? I know they tend to be a bit greasy but other than that I will be smokin blind.

As always, thanks in advance for any thoughts or suggestions offered

dwwantasmoker · Post by **dwwantasmoker** » December 21st, 2013, 1:26 pm

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.

Gizmo · Post by **Gizmo** » December 21st, 2013, 1:40 pm

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…..

Post by **Rodcrafter** » December 21st, 2013, 3:58 pm

No help for you on the duck, but blessings for the wife and have a great Christmas as she recovers.

The Czar · Post by **The Czar** » December 21st, 2013, 4:29 pm

Never tried duck!!! But so glad the wife is okay....

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Post by **Pete Mazz** » December 22nd, 2013, 6:55 am

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.

SoloQue · Post by **SoloQue** » December 22nd, 2013, 11:28 am

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

Gizmo · Post by **Gizmo** » December 22nd, 2013, 2:09 pm

At least throw a couple or 3 pounds of bacon on there so your'e ready for BLT's … just sayin'

SoloQue · Post by **SoloQue** » December 22nd, 2013, 5:22 pm

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.

SoloQue · Post by **SoloQue** » December 23rd, 2013, 11:01 am

OK folks in an effort to follow the

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.

SoloQue · Post by **SoloQue** » December 23rd, 2013, 11:03 am

If the last post is screwed up, I'm not sure why the pics seem to be overlapping unless it is just my computer.

Post by **Pete Mazz** » December 23rd, 2013, 5:43 pm

Looks good here.... Fred.

SoloQue · Post by **SoloQue** » December 24th, 2013, 1:50 pm

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

dwwantasmoker · Post by **dwwantasmoker** » December 25th, 2013, 12:18 am

for after pic but

on the cook even the bones looked good.

Merry Christmas to you and yours

Gizmo · Post by **Gizmo** » December 25th, 2013, 6:24 am

Of course that was a calorie-free bird too wasn't it?

Sounds like a successful cook though….

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