Christmas Dinner - MAK Smoked Duck & Dressing

[TentHunter]

My friend Kevin came up from Columbus to spend the day with us and he loves smoked duck. No problem that happens to have become our Christmas tradition the last several years.


I started out by baking up a few loaves of crusty no-knead bread (2 loaves of whole wheat & 1 regular) Some will be used for making smoked dressing.

Two ducks - spatchcocked, skin scored & seasoned, then onto the MAK with Apple pellets.

About half way through add a pan of Dressing.

The ducks are done.

Dinner is served - Smoked Duck & Dressing, Mashed Potatoes, Collards with some homemade smoked Bacon, Turnips & Carrots, Cran-Apple-Orange Sauce & Duck Gravy.

My Plate.

Dessert was an apple crisp Baked on the MAK (but I forgot to get pics).

Thanks for looking!

 

[Yambor44]

Great looking cook! What were the times and grill temp(s)?

 

[KristenBPS]

Yummm, I haven't eaten duck since Taiwan, but that looks delicious.

 

[MossyMO]

Very nice TH, that plate looks delicious!

 

[TentHunter]

Great looking cook! What were the times and grill temp(s)?

Smoke mode for about 45 minutes, then bumped the temp up to 275° until the duck breast reached an I.T. of 165°.

 

[dnew]

Outstanding upscale BBQ. Love duck!

 

[Yambor44]

Smoke mode for about 45 minutes, then bumped the temp up to 275° until the duck breast reached an I.T. of 165°.

Thank you TH. I've never cooked a duck but I think I'm going to give this a try.

 

[scooter]

That looks fantastic Cliff! Think I'll give Daffy a shot in the new year!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk while driving one handed!

 

[NorCal Smoker]

That looks fantastic! Thanks for the temp info. I have tried a whole duck once on the MAK, but followed a blog that asked for a much higher temp to get crispy skin. No bueno! This gives me the info I need to try again. Can't wait. I love duck!

 

[TentHunter]

I have tried a whole duck once on the MAK, but followed a blog that asked for a much higher temp to get crispy skin. No bueno! This gives me the info I need to try again. Can't wait. I love duck!

Just be aware that Duck skin won't come out crispy like Chicken or Turkey skin, but man oh man does it taste good. It has a whole lot more fat that needs to be rendered out. I've tried the pricking method, but to me the trick is scoring it deeply with a sharp knife to let the fat render out. If you score through right down to the flesh in spots (like I usually do), it's fine. Even with deep scoring it'll still have a little fat left when it's done.

If you're smart you'll put something underneath the duck; a pan of potatoes, or dressing (like I did this time), veggies, whatever. But put something to catch that precious fat which has a lot of flavor!