Duck on my PB

[Ernest]

So I love duck, never cooked it outdoor until today.
I brined the bird in 1 quart orange juice and 2 quarts water, 3/4 cup crystal Diamond kosher salt. Threw in a few whole black peppers for about a day.



Took the bird out of the brine and left it naked in the refrigerator to dry the skin. After about 2 hours, I rubbed it with some peanut oil and applied fresh cracked black pepper.



Fired up the PBC using Royal Oak lump charcoal. Got up to 350 degrees, temps monitored using Maverick 732.
My fear was that all the duck fat would cause havoc with the open fire but I thought "what's the worst that could happen." I went ahead and hang the bird. Temperature dropped to 300 and stayed there for about an hour. I didn't want to fight the PBC, I let it do "what it do" until the bird got to 150 degrees.



I pulled the bird and placed it on the grated and cranked the heat to about 450 degrees to really crisp the skin. This was the only time that I had flare ups when I left the lid off for too long.



Pulled it at 164 degrees internal temp, skin crackling.

Then I realized that I had no meal plan for the experiment.
So I whipped up some Masa, salt and chicken stock for some corn Tortillas.



Whipped some Hoisin sauce, Ginger and Lime juice. Sliced the bird and made some killer duck Tacos.



I'm now convined that the PBC was made to cook birds to perfection. If I can cook a duck on a PBC I can probably cook anything on it.
My only complain is I lost a bunch of Duck fat to add to my collection. I currently have about 5 pounds of duck fat in my freezer. Makes the best scrambled eggs, potatoes and mashed potatoes.

Ok, back to my Bourbon.

[Jerod Broussard]

Sweet.

We pot roasted ALL the ducks we killed back home.

Tame ducks were usually put in a Gumbo since they were old and tuff and out of someone's yard that was tired of 'em.

[Ernest]

How much duck fat did you have on hand then? Even European butter got nothing on Duck fat.

[Jerod Broussard]

We never saved any.

[Ernest]

You never did what now?!

[David Parrish]

Ernest that's beautiful. The duck most especially but I really like those corn tortillas too.

[Ernest]

Thank You Boss!! I refuse to buy corn tortillas.
Too easy to make at home and tastes 100 times better.

[JPW]

Nice to see this post, I am planning on doing a duck tonight, here is my plan. Weber with a smokenator, running around 250 for perhaps 5 hours or until I see about 150, then fire it up hot to crisp the skin. To prep the bird, I will pierce the skin all over to allow the fat to escape during the cook, give her a olive oil bath and then salt and black pepper her all over. I will roast, then brown some beets and potatoes and feast out on the deck. Any opinions out there on placing some fresh herbs under the skin, or do you think the fat will just wash it all away?

[Ernest]

How did you collect the fat? If it was the duck in there then you got the gold.
You can reheat it on low heat to get any water to evaporate, then strain and store in the refrigerator.

[JPW]

I collected in an empty pan, so no water to evaporate, so I will warm it up and strain it when I put it to use. And thanks again.

[Ernest]

You're welcome. I use a coffee filter to strain

[Ernest]

So I had some leftover duck. I'm going to wing it and make duck enchiladas. First, fresh corn tortillas Shred the duck, roll in queso and a little red enchilada sauce (homemade). I'll share it with you when I'm done tweaking it. Bake for 20 minutes Let it rest Make black bean and corn salad Plate, wash it down with modelo Duck enchiladas, served

[Jerod Broussard]

"I'm going to wing it and make duck.."

nice pun......

Only fat that got saved back home was hog lard, in BIG glass jars. Rest got cooked into grattons.

[Ernest]

You caught that huh? LOL!

[mtford72]

Both dishes look tremendous, Ernest. Absolutely top notch. We'll done. I've rarely cooked duck and never cooked goose, mainly because I've not seem recipes agree on time, temp or internal temp and the finished product looks disastrous. (I'm sure you've seen the youtube videos where they extol how moist their food is and it's plainly desicated!) Yours looks tremendous, however. So, questions: 1. As a guide, do you typically cook duck at a poultra temp (325 +) or can it also be cooked at a smoking temp, given the dark meat and high fat? (I don't know how marbled the meat is) 2) 165 is a poultry breast target temp. If you let the temp run to poultry thigh (185) or even higher to pullable temps, do you get chicken leg type dark meat or even pullable meat? 3) how did you hang the duck? Breast side down per the pbc turkey video? cheers! Matt

[Ernest]

MTFord72,
I hang the duck just as I do chicken, whole, vertical. Skin pricked with a clean pin.
Cook temp >315, same as poultry
Most duck legs are actually smaller than chicken's and duck is red meat so I cook the breast to 140 then crack the lid and get that PBC angry hot. Take the bird off when breast temp is 150.

When I do duck breast alone I cook it to 135. Skin side down, start in a cold cast iron pan, medium heat.

[Ernest]

I think duck beyond 165 would be a waste of great meat. Legs are pullable at 160.
But you really want to do really shredded duck then you want to go the confit route.
Salt pepper duck legs, wrap 'em tightly in HD (3 layers tight) foil with some fresh thyme and cook em in the oven at about 250 for about 3 hours. Then place them in the refrigerator overnight, still wrapped.
When ready to eat, unwrap shred and toss them around in a hot pan.

[mtford72]

Thank you! I've been trying to find some info on duck for a while - this is great. Much appreciated!

[Baker Dan]

Those enchiladas are perfect! Would you share your tortilla recipe? I would like to make those.

[Ernest]

Baker Dan I have zero idea of ingredients amounts, I just go by feel.

about 2 cups all purpose flour
About 4 tablespoons real lard or combination of lard and bacon fat.
salt
a cup of chicken stock or warm water (you won't use all of it).

Season the flour with salt and rub the lard into the flour. Get it in there really well. Add liquid, a little at a time kneading until you get a cohesive ball of dough. Not too sticky to the touch. Knead some and divide into smaller balls depending on what you plan to use them for.
30 grams balls are small enough for 5 inch Taco tortillas. Work your way up to burrito size.
Let the balls rest for at least 30 minutes before rolling.
Heat a dry cast iron skillet and cook em just long enough to slightly brown.

[Baker Dan]

Thank You @ Ernest