Description
A whole duck, dry brined overnight and spit-roasted over charcoal with a little wood smoke, for crispy skin and well-rendered fat.
Ingredients
- 1 whole duck, 5 to 6 pounds
- 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 orange (optional)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 chunk smoking wood, hickory or fruit wood, about half the size of your fist (charcoal grills only)
Instructions
- Pre-salt the duck: 24 to 48 hours before cooking, sprinkle the duck evenly with the salt - about 1/2 teaspoon each on the breast, the legs, the back, in the cavity, and in the neck. Set the duck on a rack over a roasting pan or baking sheet, and refrigerate, uncovered, so the skin dries out.
- Prep the duck: One hour before cooking, stuff the duck with the orange half, truss it, and put it on the rotisserie spit. Pierce the skin all over with a paring knife, held almost parallel to the skin so you don't cut into the meat - this helps the fat render out. Let the duck rest at room temperature, and soak the wood chunk in water.
- Prepare the grill: Set up the grill for rotisserie cooking at indirect high heat. On a charcoal kettle, light a full chimney of charcoal, and when it's covered with ash, pour it in two equal piles on the sides of the grill, with a drip pan in the middle. Put the wood chunk on the charcoal, and give it 5 minutes to start smoking.
- Cook the duck: Put the spit on the grill, and cook with the lid closed. After 1 hour, add 10 charcoal briquettes to each pile. Start checking the temperature after 1 hour 15 minutes; the duck is done when the thigh reaches 180°F to 190°F, 1 1/2 to 2 hours total. Remove from the grill, and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Carve and serve: Cut off the wings and legs, and serve them bone-in. Carve the breasts off the carcass, and slice 1/2 inch thick. Serve each person a wing, a thigh, and some breast.
Notes
Equipment: A grill with a rotisserie attachment (I used a Weber charcoal kettle with the Weber kettle rotisserie), a foil drip pan, and butcher's twine. See my rotisserie poultry technique for trussing and setup details.
This isn't the recipe for medium-rare duck breast. The legs need to be cooked well done to be tender, and the whole duck needs that long to render the fat and crisp the skin. The breast is a little dry this way, but with that crispy skin, you won't mind.
There isn't a lot of meat on a duck - it serves 2 to 3 people. Ducks are long, too; I can fit two on the spit of my big gas grill, but only one on my kettle.
Cook rotisserie pan potatoes in the drip pan. Potatoes plus duck fat equals heaven. (Duck gives off a LOT of fat.)
Charcoal notes: A full chimney of charcoal started at about 450°F, dropped to 375°F after an hour, and 275°F after an hour and a half. That gives you high heat early, then a gentler finish that makes it hard to overcook the duck.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Dry brine: 24 hours
- Cook Time: 1 hour 45 minutes