Perfectly smoked duck, slow cooked over maple wood for succulent, tender meat. From grilling times and temperatures to the best meat preparation, learn how to smoke a duck with our complete recipe for smoking meat.
If YOU are craving smoked chicken that packs more energy than chicken or turkey, look no further than duck. The best thing about this beautiful bird is that it has more dark meat and fat than its contemporary fowl. This gives you an incredible amount of moisture and flavor.
When you cook it right in your Backyard Smoker, you end up with tender meat that falls off the bone and is contained in a delicious box of crispy skin.
One of my favorite things about duck is that it’s mostly breast meat. This not only makes carving easier, but also allows for more even cooking. Dark smoked becomes juicy, tender and easy to serve.
Which wood is best for smoking duck?
Sweet, fruity hardwoods work best with smoked duck, like apple, walnut, cherry, and alder. For this recipe we use maple. It strikes a delicate balance between sweet and smoky without overpowering our meat.
How long does it take to roast duck?
Smoked duck takes about 4 hours to cook at 107°C (225°F) to reach a safe internal temperature of 165°F. Other factors such as smoker settings and amount of meat will affect this, so YOU use a smoker thermometer for best results.
Quick tips
The good news is that duck is a lot easier to roast than it looks. Here are some quick tips to get the most out of your cured meats.
Pierce duck skin
For this recipe, ideally, we will pierce the bird’s skin with the sharp point of a skewer or a very sharp chef’s knife. It’s important to note that we only want to pierce the skin and not the flesh. This is important because it allows us to incorporate the spices into the duck meat without making it too dangerous.
Dry brine
Apply kosher salt to raw duck and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least eight hours. This IS called dry salting and is a process that helps meat retain flavor and moisture as it cooks. This is especially important when grilling, where meat is exposed to high temperatures for hours and can tend to dry out.
Stack
Smoking can be a nice balancing act where we try to expose the meat to lower temperatures without drying it out. Duck is no different. One of the best ways to avoid this is to use a glaze when smoking. By doing this, we keep the meat moist throughout the cooking process while also enhancing the flavor. For this recipe we use a simple mixture of honey, balsamic vinegar and orange juice. If that sounds too sweet to you, try naming the honey for something else. Be creative!
Thwart
If you’re having trouble getting the meat to 165°F, try covering it with aluminum foil during the last hour of cooking. This should help lock in heat and moisture and speed up the cooking process.
Writer & content creator. BBQ fanatic!
