Smoked duck on WSM result

[zacbrown]

Well Thanksgiving has come and gone and I ended up smoking a duck on the WSM (18.5"). Overall the bird turned out delicious but the skin was not where I'd have liked it.

Some basics about the setup:

• WSM 18.5"
  • empty water pan, double foiled
• DigiQ DX2 automagical stoker - first time using this
• apple wood
• Kingsford blue

I pricked the duck skin all over with a needle. Duck was brined in Lapsang Suchong tea and orange juice for 10 hours then put in the fridge to air dry the skin. In the morning I pulled the bird out about 3 hours ahead of time. It was still a little damp in a couple spots so I used a blow dryer to dry out the skin a bit more. After getting it dry, rubbed it down with Simon and Garfunkel and put it on a vertical roaster right side up.

Got the WSM up to about 305F and then put the bird on with a thermometer in the breast. Took about 1.5 hours to get up to 140F in the breast which was my cut off before stoking up the fire to try and crisp the skin. I pulled the bird off for about an hour to let the rest of the cooking catch up. I'm not sure if this was a good idea with respect to trying to crisp the skin.

When it was time to crisp the skin, I stoked the fire up to 450F which is a huge PITA on the WSM. I've never bothered to get mine up past 325F before so this was new territory for me. In order to sustain the temp I actually had to open up the side door and point a box fan at it to get the flame up consistently.

I put the bird back on after I hit 450F and let it get up to 155F in the breast. Sadly, the skin was not at the crispness I wanted but it was time to pull the bird. During this timeframe I also did a few strategic cuts to let rendered fat drain.

If I were to do it again I'd either:

• pull the water pan so there's direct heat on the bird
• use the broiler in the oven

I'm thinking pulling the water pan that was already empty might be worthwhile as it'd somewhat resemble the PBC duck cook that Ernest managed.

That said - the duck meat itself was delicious and a big hit with guests and now it's all gone.

PS: life changed with the DigiQ, always had trouble keeping a consistent temperature with the WSM despite about 20 cooks. DigiQ was solid in keeping fire right where I wanted with exception of when I asked it to push the smoker up to 450F.

[Jerod Broussard]

Did you stab the skin any to help some of the fat render out?

[zacbrown]

Yes - I did. I'll make a note in the original post.

I pricked it all over with a fired needle and then made some strategic slices to let out rendered fat.

[Huskee]

I think Meathead recommends poking holes in or slicing the skin to allow fat to drain out from under. Might be something to try next time. I have 2 ducks in the freezer that I was supposed to cook a year ago....alas I am still unfamiliar with them.

[zacbrown]

Yes I did - forgot to note it but I'll put it in the original post.

[josht138]

The one time I tried duck I did something similar. I poked holes in the skin and used the broiler though. It looked great but tasted like rubber.