Rotisserie Maple Smoked Duck on your gas grill is easier than you think! Moreover, when smoked duck is the centerpiece on the dining table it announces a celebration has begun! Each bite of the tender and juicy duck meat is rich and fulfilling.
In addition, smoked duck is not only for your festive dinner table it makes a delightful unique contribution to any charcuterie board or as a simple appetizer! So grab some Jack Daniel’s Seasoning, Western BBQ smoking chips, and a whole duck, and let’s get smoking!
Thank you Western BBQ Products for sponsoring this post. Rotisserie Maple Smoked Duck makes me think I’m on a holiday no matter what time of year!
HOW TO SEASON A WHOLE SMOKED DUCK
Prepare Smoked Duck with Bold Seasoning and Mild Smoke
Duck has more dark meat than chicken therefore, it can stand up to a generous amount of bold seasoning. In contrast, when it comes to smoking chips, duck prefers a mild smoke that is sweet, nutty, or fruity! See our favorite Western BBQ Smoking chips for duck below.
Delicious Herbs and Spices for Smoked Duck
Rubs that include sage, thyme, rosemary, coriander, cumin, garlic, onion, nutmeg, allspice, black pepper, lemon zest, and Chinese 5 spice are perfect. Fresh herbs that brighten duck are rosemary, thyme, chives, and marjoram.
Smoke Duck with Western BBQ Smoking Chips
Maple, Pecan, Apple or Cherry Smoking Chips are excellent smoking chips for duck.
Prick or Score the Duck Skin
Using a wood or metal skewer and prick the skin of the duck at a 45 degree angle without piercing the meat. Alternatively, the duck skin can be scored in diagonal slashes or crosshatch pattern without cutting into the meat. Which method of preparing the duck skin is totally up to how you want the duck presentation to look.
By scoring or piercing the duck skin more of the fat renders. As soon as the duck is removed from the refrigerator, prepare the duck skin. Consequently, cold duck skin scores easier than room temperature duck skin!
Dry Brine Duck Overnight
A dry brine seasons the meat and draws moisture from the skin. Rotisserie Maple Smoked Duck delivers a flavorful deep moist bite in two steps.
Step 1: The duck sits with a dry brine, uncovered, overnight. The dry brine is a combination of Jack Daniel’s Steak Seasoning and Chicken Rub along with Chinese 5-Spice, Garlic, Coriander, and Ginger.
Step 2: By smoking the duck at a low temperature of 300°F the fat has a chance to render. The extended low temperature smoke infuses the duck with delicious maple smoke. Along with the Asian forward dry brine seasoning the ducks layers of flavor is so delicious it does not need a glaze.
Smoked Duck – To Glaze or Not To Glaze
When you combine duck, seasoning, and smoke I have found that a glaze is totally optional! However, if you must glaze I do have advice! Before my discovery of how much smoking chips can infuse duck with flavor, I glazed duck for flavor. As stated, duck delivers a bold depth of flavor due to the large amount of dark meat. A bold BBQ sauce will compete with the flavor so choose a glaze that combines sweet (maple, agave, or honey) and acid (lime, lemon, tangerine)….and thank me later!
THE PROS and CONS of SERVING SMOKED DUCK
Serving smoked duck is the perfect centerpiece for your holiday dinner table. It definitely looks different than the common rotisserie chicken and announces a celebration.
I serve duck every Thanksgiving and Christmas because it makes me think I am lavishing my loved ones with the best. Nevertheless, I don’t serve it as the main meat entree! Although my family enjoys smoked duck as little extra something-something special, it is expensive at $18 to $25 per duck.! One 5 pound duck, as an entree, will feed 3-4 people! Hence I serve it as a side dish or on the charcuterie board.
Duck is easy to smoke on a gas grill! One reason that duck is easy to cook is that the breast meat is the majority of the duck. You will find a duck cooks more evenly than chicken or turkey. You’ll have scrumptious melt-in-your mouth duck breast ready at the same time as the tender thighs are done cooking.
HOW MANY SERVINGS PER DUCK
I calculate 3-4 people per duck! I was super curious just how much meat could gracefully be carved from one duck. Thus I carved away and grabbed the food scale. Drumroll….10 ounces of sliced duck came from the 5.5 pound duck! Whoa that’s not much! However when no one was looking I microwaved the back, wings and bits for 2 more individual meals.
When I heat leftover duck and beast it (as my grandkids call it) I wear food safe gloves. That’s The Truth! Duck is fatty and it reheats beautifully but I hate the lingering smell of duck fat on my hands!
DOES DUCK HAVE WHITE OR DARK MEAT
Scientifically, duck is white meat due to its myoglobin content. Still, it’s typically darker in color than most parts of chicken and turkey and requires different seasoning and cooking. Therefore It is fair to consider duck dark meat by culinary standards.
IS DUCK MEAT HEALTHIER THAN CHICKEN
We should eat more duck when it comes to the nutritional value! Duck meat is richer in many vitamins compared to chicken meat! Duck provides two times more vitamin K than chicken and almost three times more vitamin B1! In addition, duck contains Vitamin D when chicken has zero! Lastly, duck has higher amounts of vitamin B2, vitamin E, vitamin A, and folate.
HOW LONG TO THAW A DUCK
Thaw a 5-7 pound duck in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
WHEN IS A DUCK DONE COOKING
Use an instant-read thermometer to check for doneness. Specifically the USDA guidelines state that a whole duck should be cooked to 165°F. Check the internal temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. I remove the duck when the breast reaches 155°F expecting the temperature will rise to 165°F.
STEPS FOR MAKING SMOKED DUCK
Steps for Smoking a Whole Duck
Step 1. Thaw duck 24 hours before cooking.
Step 2. Prepare duck skin by scoring or piercing.
Step 3. Prepare rub and apply to duck skin.
Step 4. Let seasoning penetrate into duck skin overnight or at least 8 hours.
Step 5. Prepare a gas grill for indirect 300°F heat.
Step 6. Fill a smoker box with 2 cups of Western BBQ Smoking Chips.
Step 7. Mount and secure the duck onto a rotisserie spit rod.
Step 8. Once the smoke is drifting from the smoker box insert the spit rod into the rotisserie motor.
Step 9. Place a drip pan below the duck to catch any rendered fat.
Smoke 10. Smoke duck for 2 hours at 300°F.
Step 11. Remove the duck and the drip pan from the grill, and increase the heat to 425°F.
Step 12. Place the spit rod with the duck back onto the rotisserie. Crisp the skin for 20-30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the duck is 165°F. Rest the duck for 20 minutes before slicing.
CHECK OUT THIS DUCK RECIPE FROM GRILLING GRANDMA
SMOKING INSPIRATION CAN BE FOUND THROUGH THESE LINKS!
Western BBQ Products Instagram
LET’S MAPLE SMOKE DUCK
Rotisserie Maple Smoked Duck
Description: A whole duck maple smoked on a gas grill prepared boldly with a dry brine. The dry brine of coriander, ginger, garlic, Chinese 5-spice, Jack Daniel’s Steak Seasoning and Chicken Rub is applied the night before. Western BBQ Maple Smoking Chips smoke a holiday duck to perfection.
Ingredients
- INGREDIENTS
- Equipment: Rotisserie, Smoker Box, Drip Pan, Western BBQ Maple Smoking Chips
- For the Duck:
- 1 (5-7 pounds) whole duck, thawed
- Choose any drip pan aromatics: tangerine, fennel, onion, garlic, fresh ginger, celery
- Choose any duck cavity aromatics: tangerine, fennel, onion, garlic, fresh ginger, celery
- For the Dry Brine Rub:
- 1/4 cup Jack Daniel’s Steak Seasoning Rub
- 1/2 tablespoon Jack Daniel’s Chicken Rub
- 1/2 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1/2 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1/2 tablespoon granulated garlic
- 1/2 tablespoon Chinese 5 Spice
Instructions
Prepare the Duck for Dry Brine Time:
Thaw the duck. Score or pierce the duck skin all over at a 45° angle with a knife or skewer.
Combine the Dry Brine Rub ingredients.
Rub half of the Dry Brine Rub over the entire duck. Set the duck on a wire rack and place in the refrigerator, uncovered, overnight. Cover and reserve the remaining Dry Brine Rub.
Prepare the Gas Grill:
After the duck has completed the dry brine time, prepare the gas grill for 300°F indirect rotisserie cooking as directed in the grill’s instruction book.
Place a large drip pan in the center of the grill. Fill the drip pan 3/4-inch full with water and scatter with desired aromatics from the ingredient list above.
Fill a smoker box with 2 cups Western Maple BBQ Smoking Chips, and securely position over the hottest part of the grill.
Prepare the Duck for Smoking:
Truss or pin the duck wings and legs. Mount and secure the duck onto a rotisserie spit rod. Sprinkle the duck with the reserved Dry Brine Rub. Stuff the cavity with desired aromatics.
Once the maple smoke is drifting, insert prepared duck, on the spit rod, into the rotisserie. Move the smoker box to a cooler part of the grill to prevent burning.
Smoke the Duck:
Smoke the duck, on the rotisserie, at 300°F for 2 hours, or until the internal temperature of the breast registers 145°F. Remove the duck and drip pan from the grill. Reserve the aromatics, and empty the drip pan if it has blackened too much.
Bring the grill temperature to 425°F to 450°F degrees. Return the duck on the spit rod back into the rotisserie. Crisp the duck skin for about 20 minutes, removing the duck if it gets too dark. The USDA safety guideline for the internal temperature of duck is 165°F.
Serve the Duck:
Remove the duck from the grill and let it rest on a cutting board, for 15-20 minutes.
Carve the duck and serve.
Notes
- The duck wings can be clipped at the first joint. In addition, some Asian markets sell whole duck at a reduced cost if the wing tip is missing!
- Refrigerate duck leftovers, covered, in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave at 30 second intervals. I suggest using food safe prep gloves when gnawing on a bone to prevent having the strong duck fat scent remaining on your fingers.
- Duck only needs about 60 minutes of smoke so we suggest not refilling the smoker box.
Leave a Reply