Ducks on the grill

[Flash]

How do you guys make your ducks on the grill? I'm talking plucked ducks. Do you use direct heat or indirect? Do you wrap with bacon? Mine always turn out kind of tough and burnt. let's hear it.

Flash

"Set the Hook"

[chillincarp870]

if you took the time to pluck it i would bake it. if you want to bake it my favorite recipe is to put it in a baking pan 3/4 full of orange juice and some sprite. Bake at 350 for 3 hours. it is amazing the meat falls off the bones. and make sure the ducks are breast down in the pan. i am anxious to hear how people do a plucked duck on the grill.

[polarsusd81]

I have never done a plucked duck on the grill but I have done skinless breast fillets on the grill.

What I do is as follows:

1. Soak duck breasts in milk for at least 8 hours, usually put em in the night before.

2. In the morning, take the breasts out of the milk, rinse and place breasts in plastic bag and add Allegro Hickory Smoke marinade.

3. Get home from work, pull em out, wrap em in some good bacon and fire up the grill.

4. Grill over direct medium heat until the bacon crisps up. Duck breast should be darn near perfect. Right at the end add your favorite bbq sauce.

5. Enjoy the smokey goodness with your favorite beverage!

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

With a whole duck with the skin, I would soak it for 24 hours in a basic sugar/salt/water brine. You can really add whatever you want to the brine, but I'd give it 24 hours. Then you can either grill indirectly or smoke.

[BLACKJACK]

I've never done whole skin on ducks on the grill but I've done duck breasts on the grill. Go hunting in the morning, shoot two mallards and a teal, fillet out the breasts and throw into a marinade of soy sauce and Worchester sauce for a couple of hours, go clean up your duck hunting mess, start the gas grill, throw the breasts on the grill, cook on high heat. Your goal is not too done, do it like a steak, pink in the middle, sample the teal breasts first, have your steak knife, fork, and buttered bread ready,it won't take long!! If you like a rare steak, try this!! If you overcook it will taste like tough liver...

[Hammer Handle]

Whole ducks need to be kept moist (in water or other juice) and covered for a period of time in my opinion. Or, cut all the meat off the bone and wrap in bacon.

Congrats on keeping the whole duck and all the meat (I always do). I will get flamed for this, but just saving the breast is a waste....

[ducker]

Duck Parmasian (sp)is hard to beat. Our Devils Lake crew loves this. Cut breasts in to 1/4 to 3/8 inch strips. Dip in milk then into 50/50 crushed saltine/parmasian mix. Put into heavy duty buttered cake pan and put on the grill under medium heat. Once browned on one side flip to other side and have one more finger of scotchand they are done. Rare is absolute key.

[dan z]

ducker, thats sounds to good to be true gonna try it sometime,

flash, I dont know about grillin a whole body tho. but most duckers try everything once if I would do it that way I would just do waht most people do in the oven low heat in a roast pan with dressing and stuff the cavity with your fruit of choice

On a side note tell pat at wayside he is a bad shot and his calling sounds like a kazoooo

[ChknChkn]

Just did up some duck breasts the other night....little salt/pepper on the duck, sear in a HOT pan (w/olive oil)for approx 1.5-2 min per side. Put them into a preheated oven at 325 on a cookie sheet.

While the duck finished cooking (to medium rare) deglazed the pan with chicken stock, dropped in some woodear, oyster, and baby portabella mushrooms. While these were cooking down, tore up some fresh sage leaves and threw those in also. When the mushrooms were done, added some fresh cream to finish the sauce.

Took the duck out of the oven, sliced it on the bias, put the mushroom/sage/cream mixture over the top of it.

Wife said it was one of the best dishes she's ever tasted........

[Jim Uran]

I just grind them up and feed them to my pet kangaroo. Just kidding

I like to marinate the breasts in 57 sauce over night. Wrap them in bacon and brish them with grill them. Brush them with bbq sauce while they are grilling and waaaaaaa laaaaaa

[ddsbyday]

On the grill. Start as you did for the oven. Use indirect heat on the grill. Coals around the circumfrence of the grill(weber) with no coals directly beneath the baking pan.(I use disposable aluminum). Start with breast up and covered with tin foil. The last 15 minutes remove the foil. The trick is to not allow the coals to get to hot. If you have the temp right the back will not be charred. Oops almost forgot-tie the legs and wings tight to the body or they will be charcoal. Just use kite string. You want the liquid it is cooking in to boil but not violently. I also like to drain the pan for the last 5 minutes by punching a couple of holes in the alum. pan. If the skin is on you don't need bacon. With a little practice it is just like oven baked. Most common error is fire too hot. Hope this helps. Time frame-45min-1hr. I showed my friend this technique in person and he loved it. He tried it and even the bones were burnt. LOW HEAT. Hope this works for you too.

[spivak]

What works for me with plucked ducks on the grill is to cut out the backbone and press the duck flat on the grill. Or cut out the backbone and split duck down breast bone. Not as pretty as a whole duck, but you can control the cooking process much better. With skin on ducks I always use indirect heat. Try placing a pan of water in center, under the ducks, with the coals arranged around the outside of the pan. Skin on ducks will drip fat on exposed coals and this makes some toxic, nasty tasting stuff on the duck. Duck skin is delicious and over indirect heat it will brown nicely without burning. Give your ducks plenty of room so the spattering fat will not ignite on the coals. Try dry rub--you do not need to add more fat. Duck fat is ample and declicious.

[dan z]

Duck Parmasian (sp)is hard to beat. Our Devils Lake crew loves this. Cut breasts in to 1/4 to 3/8 inch strips. Dip in milk then into 50/50 crushed saltine/parmasian mix. Put into heavy duty buttered cake pan and put on the grill under medium heat. Once browned on one side flip to other side and have one more finger of scotchand they are done. Rare is absolute key.

this is amazing I tell ya glad I tried it!

[lifterpuller]

The easiest way to cook a delicous plucked duck is in the oven.

1. Shoot mallards.

2. Age whole in fridge for a few days.

3. Pluck and clean.

4. Brine for 24 hours in a simple mixture of 1 cup sea salt & 1 cup brown sugar + whatever spices you want to 1 gallon water.

5. Pat entire duck dry and season with salt and pepper. Stuff with apple and/or onion.

6. Preheat oven and roasting pan to 500 degrees.

7. Cooks duck(s), covered for 18-20 minutes or until medium rare. A meat thermometer is a big help. You want to reach 140 degrees.

8. Uncover roasting pan and broil until skin is crispy.

9. Enjoy.

The same method of preparation can be used to smoke a whole duck. Simply smoke at 195 degrees for 4 hours.