INGREDIENTS
1 Duck
Salt
Pepper
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp soy sauce
GLAZE
2 Tbsp Spicy Brown Mustard
or Hot English Mustard (Your Choice of heat & Spice)
or Mild American Mustard
2 Tsp Worcestershire Sauce Or Light Soy Sauce
2 Tsp Ground Cumin
2 Tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1 1⁄2 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 1⁄2 Tsp Mustard Powder
METHOD
Whole ducks are something that you can find a lot around the holidays, so I’m sharing my recipe for smoking a whole duck on the smoker.
For this recipe I am using a whole duck from the grocery store. You can use a wild duck, but I would recommend brining it before smoking a wild duck to remove the gamey flavor.
With this store bought duck I start by allowing the frozen duck to slow-thaw in the fridge. Once the duck is thawed, I pull out everything that is stuffed in the cavity of the duck and throw it out. Then rinse the suck off with cold water and pat the whole duck off really good – both on the outside and inside the duck cavity and prick holes in the skin with a corn holder for the fat to render out.
Now it’s time to season the duck. I keep it really simple by just using salt and pepper to season both the outside of the duck and the inside of the duck cavity. Once the duck is seasoned with salt and pepper, I give it a quick drizzle of 2Tbsp honey and 1 Tbsp soy sauce. NO need for the Honey if you can not eat sweet stuff. Now the duck is ready for the smoker.
I smoke duck at a higher temp because there is a lot of fat under the skin of a duck, and you have to make sure that is rendered properly. That is why I set my smoker at 162℃ degrees. This higher temp will get the duck done and allow the skin the brown and get as crispy as it can on a smoker.
I strongly recommend using an internal meat thermometer when you’re cooking duck or any poultry at all.
Once the duck hits 68℃ internal in the breast, it’s time to apply the glaze.
Now you just need the glaze to set and the duck to come up another 10 degrees.
For duck, you are looking for an internal temp of 73℃ in the breast and 80℃ in the thigh. There are people who say you can cook duck rare or med. rare, but for grocery store duck, I like to take it to an internal temp that I know is safe.
Once your duck hits the proper internal temp, it’s time to take the whole, smoked duck off the smoker and allow it to rest for 15 – 20 minutes. Then it’s time to dive-in and eat your holiday smoked duck.
