I want to cook a duck this weekend in the WSM. I am thinking piercing
the skin, 250 for an hour, then 325 until done. Anybody have any
experience with ducks or have a better idea?

Randy wrote:
I want to cook a duck this weekend in the WSM. I am thinking piercing
the skin, 250 for an hour, then 325 until done. Anybody have any
experience with ducks or have a better idea?


I did two ducks at the same time on my WSM last year. Put several
million holes in the skin, brine in your favorite brine and cook any way
you like. I smoked mine for ~6 hours at 275+/- with aromatics loosely
stuffed into the body cavity. The result was useless skin (not a problem
for my family) and the richest, most tender duck I've ever had.

Be aware that if you aren't hanging them or using a stand, the bodies
will fill up with hot fat so be careful how you handle them.

Matthew

"Randy" wrote in message
...
I want to cook a duck this weekend in the WSM. I am thinking piercing
the skin, 250 for an hour, then 325 until done. Anybody have any
experience with ducks or have a better idea?


We've done one and treated it just like chicken. It was excellent, but I
wish we would have done two of them. There just wasn't enough meat. It
didn't stay around long enough for us to cut it even. We just stood over it
on the counter and picked. It was *that* good.

kili

"Randy" wrote in message
...
I want to cook a duck this weekend in the WSM. I am thinking piercing
the skin, 250 for an hour, then 325 until done. Anybody have any
experience with ducks or have a better idea?

I just checked my memory against a few cookbooks, most roast duck recipes
call for the higher temps first. Which is really convenient for grilling
isn't it?

Here's the directions from one recipe I've got in front of me:
Season generously with S&P, place the bird breast down on a rack roast at
400F for 30 minutes basting 3 times. Reduce to 325F, turn the duck breast up
continue basting until juices run clear or thigh can be pierced with a
skewer, about 45 minutes.

I'd be wary of cooking too long at lower temps because despite skin
fattiness, the meat is so damn lean it dries up easily. And overcooked duck
is just plain bad. I think you can do something like this on your WSM if you
remove the pan.


I really enjoy a duck done up well though, lots of flavor.

"Matthew L. Martin" wrote in message
...
Randy wrote:
I want to cook a duck this weekend in the WSM. I am thinking piercing
the skin, 250 for an hour, then 325 until done. Anybody have any
experience with ducks or have a better idea?


I did two ducks at the same time on my WSM last year. Put several
million holes in the skin, brine in your favorite brine and cook any way
you like. I smoked mine for ~6 hours at 275+/- with aromatics loosely
stuffed into the body cavity. The result was useless skin (not a problem
for my family) and the richest, most tender duck I've ever had.

Be aware that if you aren't hanging them or using a stand, the bodies
will fill up with hot fat so be careful how you handle them.

Matthew

What Matthew said, with one other minor point. If you plan on carving it,
let it cool first. The meat falls from the bone when you lift it from the
smoker and carving it is nigh impossible.

Mmmmm, I have a hankering for another duck or two.

Graeme

Matthew L. Martin wrote:
Randy wrote:

I want to cook a duck this weekend in the WSM. I am thinking piercing
the skin, 250 for an hour, then 325 until done. Anybody have any
experience with ducks or have a better idea?


I did two ducks at the same time on my WSM last year. Put several
million holes in the skin, brine in your favorite brine and cook any way
you like. I smoked mine for ~6 hours at 275+/- with aromatics loosely
stuffed into the body cavity. The result was useless skin (not a problem
for my family) and the richest, most tender duck I've ever had.

Be aware that if you aren't hanging them or using a stand, the bodies
will fill up with hot fat so be careful how you handle them.

Matthew
Thanks Matthew, I'm planning on using a using vertical stand and no
water in the pan. I would really like to get the skin crispy, that's
why I thought low and slow first might render out a lot of the fat then
crank it up to crisp the skin. The other thought I had was to steam it
for about an hour then roast it until crispy. -RP

We recentlly slow roasted a duck in our meco smoker, a vertical smoker like
the WSM but of very inferior quality[I'm hoping minute by minute that it
will burn up].
With low temp cooking in the 250F range, the skin never became crisp, and
there remained a lot of fat between the skin and the meat.
I have done a number of ducks on the Weber Performer, piercing the skin, and
starting at a high temp., 400F or so, until the skin was browning, and then
reducing the temp. indirectly to about 300F. I would do this the next time
and avoid low temp. smoke cooking.
Another excellent way to do duck that has nothing to do with "que" is using
something like the Farberware
Rotisserie, which browns the outside skin and renders the fat. You can save
that fat for Charcroute Garni, and for Cassoulet.
Kent

"Randy" wrote in message
...
I want to cook a duck this weekend in the WSM. I am thinking piercing the
skin, 250 for an hour, then 325 until done. Anybody have any experience
with ducks or have a better idea?

"Randy" wrote in message
...
I want to cook a duck this weekend in the WSM. I am thinking piercing
the skin, 250 for an hour, then 325 until done. Anybody have any
experience with ducks or have a better idea?


They have a helluva lot of fat on them. Great on the smoker. No worries
about them drying out.

TFM®

"Randy" wrote in message
...
I want to cook a duck this weekend in the WSM. I am thinking piercing the
skin, 250 for an hour, then 325 until done. Anybody have any experience
with ducks or have a better idea?


I typically steam first, and then just crisp the skin.


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