Chris in Louisiana
TVWBB All-Star
The chickens on the rotisserie turned out great, so I wanted to try something else.
Test subject: Duck. I've cooked it only once before, and then by butchering it, steaming it (to render fat), and pan-frying it per Alton Brown's Mighty Duck recipe.
I read a lot of threads on here and some posts over at Dad Cooks Dinner about duck on the rotisserie.
Decided to go a very simple route. Duck was thawed, salted, and left in fridge to air dry overnight. Skipped the steaming, dunking in boiling water, and other techniques designed to remove fat.
Used a paring knife to make several holes in the skin to allow fat to drip out. (Dad Cooks Dinner has a good tip here: Come at the duck from a very low angle, almost parallel to the skin. More like slicing and much better than "stabbing." It also avoids accidentally piercing through to the meat.)
Fired a chimney starter of Stubbs and put it in two Weber char-baskets in my OTG kettle. Drip pan in the middle.
Duck was seasoned generously with salt and pepper. Stuffed two halves of an orange inside with some green onions. Trussed it.
Duck placed on rotisserie. Cooked for an hour with bottom vent closed. Temp was 450 at start, down to 400 later.
At the one hour mark, the duck was near the desired 165 in the thigh, but shy in the breast. Cracked the bottom vent to keep temp up. Another 1/2 hour, and it was perfect.
Took duck off to rest. Rescued some of the duck fat from the drip pan. Yukon Golds, chunked and boiled earlier, were sauteed in the duck fat in a Le Creuset skillet (and then took a spin under the broiler) to brown them up. Added S&P, plus some sliced green onions.
The breast was perfect. The thighs still had some fat on them, which I just used my hands to peel off before I ate the juicy meat. If company is coming, you may want to render first, but this is good enough for Saturday night at home. My wife can be a picky eater, but she loved this duck.
I'll do it again. But next time I might go to the trouble of pouring some boiling water over the duck just before cooking to render some fat.
The leftovers will be used to make an Asian noodle salad.
Test subject: Duck. I've cooked it only once before, and then by butchering it, steaming it (to render fat), and pan-frying it per Alton Brown's Mighty Duck recipe.
I read a lot of threads on here and some posts over at Dad Cooks Dinner about duck on the rotisserie.
Decided to go a very simple route. Duck was thawed, salted, and left in fridge to air dry overnight. Skipped the steaming, dunking in boiling water, and other techniques designed to remove fat.
Used a paring knife to make several holes in the skin to allow fat to drip out. (Dad Cooks Dinner has a good tip here: Come at the duck from a very low angle, almost parallel to the skin. More like slicing and much better than "stabbing." It also avoids accidentally piercing through to the meat.)
Fired a chimney starter of Stubbs and put it in two Weber char-baskets in my OTG kettle. Drip pan in the middle.
Duck was seasoned generously with salt and pepper. Stuffed two halves of an orange inside with some green onions. Trussed it.
Duck placed on rotisserie. Cooked for an hour with bottom vent closed. Temp was 450 at start, down to 400 later.
At the one hour mark, the duck was near the desired 165 in the thigh, but shy in the breast. Cracked the bottom vent to keep temp up. Another 1/2 hour, and it was perfect.
Took duck off to rest. Rescued some of the duck fat from the drip pan. Yukon Golds, chunked and boiled earlier, were sauteed in the duck fat in a Le Creuset skillet (and then took a spin under the broiler) to brown them up. Added S&P, plus some sliced green onions.
The breast was perfect. The thighs still had some fat on them, which I just used my hands to peel off before I ate the juicy meat. If company is coming, you may want to render first, but this is good enough for Saturday night at home. My wife can be a picky eater, but she loved this duck.
I'll do it again. But next time I might go to the trouble of pouring some boiling water over the duck just before cooking to render some fat.
The leftovers will be used to make an Asian noodle salad.
