Picked up a duck today. Now what?


 
JimK

JimK

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Picked up a duck at the grocery store today. I enjoy eating it, but have never cooked it. Any ideas? It is 'seasoned in a 12% solution'.
 
JimK said:
Picked up a duck at the grocery store today. I enjoy eating it, but have never cooked it. Any ideas? It is 'seasoned in a 12% solution'.
Click to expand...
I would cook in on a roto with with chopped up potato with garlic & onion in a pan to catch the drippings from the duck, makes amazing potatos. Cook it low & slow to render the fat. (you may have to give the taters a head start)

A good rub for duck:

Tablespoon smoked paprika
Teaspoon garlic powder
Teaspoon ground cumin
Teaspoon chili powder
1/2 Teaspoon 5-spice powder
1/2 Teaspoon dry mustard
Salt & Pepper
 
ChuckO said:
I would cook in on a roto with with chopped up potato with garlic & onion in a pan to catch the drippings from the duck, makes amazing potatos. Cook it low & slow to render the fat. (you may have to give the taters a head start)

A good rub for duck:

Tablespoon smoked paprika
Teaspoon garlic powder
Teaspoon ground cumin
Teaspoon chili powder
1/2 Teaspoon 5-spice powder
1/2 Teaspoon dry mustard
Salt & Pepper
Click to expand...


Got a roto I can borrow? ;) (knew there was something I forgot to request for Christmas!)
 
I have been trying to persuade my better half to try a rotisserie duck. That's a great rub suggestion from Chucko.

Even without a roti I reckon a slowly rendered duck on the kettle, indirectly roasted would be great.
 
Hey Jim, if you are going to do it on a smoker, I would do it at a High temp like 325-350. The duck has a lot of fat under the skin and you want to make sure the fat is rendered and also the higher temps will get the skin as crispy as you can on a smoker. Just my humble opinion, but I would keep it simple and just season inside and out with some salt and pepper. You can then make a flavorful glaze and apply the last 10-15 minutes of the cook. Duck goes good with orange so a little honey, molasses, some fresh squeezed orange juice and orange zest mixed together would make a good glaze.
 
Thanks all! It is in the freezer for now, but I'll be sure to post up when I cook it.
 
It has a ton of fat beneath the skin, so use a drip pan to avoid a mess/fire.

I like to take a paring knife and poke several holes in the skin to let the grease out. I took a tip from Dad Cooks Dinner blog: come at the duck from a very low angle, almost parallel to the skin, to puncture skin without hitting the meat. He has a couple of duck on the rotiss recipes.

Some will then dunk the duck in boiling water a time or two to melt some of the fat before cooking.
 
I think that if you go low and slow with duck, you will end up with soggy skin. Every good duck deserves the heat to attain crispy skin.
Sure, you can dry duck out, so 325-350F on rotiss, and watch the internal temps.
 
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