We planned a smokin' afternoon with an agenda of duck, pastrami and ABTs, none of which I'd smoked before. We're planning a party for next weekend and I wanted to try ABTs before serving them to company. Anyway,since this is the poultry section, about the duck:
We had to go to 3 supermarkets to find one, and one it was. There was a lonely frozen bird in the freezer section. We thawed it overnight in a bowl of lightly vinegared (cider) water. When it was just thawed (the parts they stuffed into the inside were still just slightly crystalline, but came out easily), I prepared the bird to marinate. First, I cut the skin with slices about an inch long about an inch aopart to let the fat out when she cooked. I put the bird in a bag with a marinade of half cider vinegar, half soy sauce, actually this stuff my wife bought called Bragg's Liquid Aminos, a soy product that tastes just like soy sauce but isn't fermented. I don't know if the use of this particular product affected the outcome any. It marinated in the fridge for about three hours.
We sprinkled it inside and out with a 50-50 mix of coarse kosher salt and coarse cracked black pepper. I smoked it for about four hours at 225 using maple wood in the Traeger, then I transferred it to the Weber to cook on indirect, higher heat in an attempt to get the skin to crisp, and put the ABTs in the Traeger. The skin was quite dark, which scared me, but the inside temp was around 165 at that point, with some temps higher: in the leg, for example. The Weber was at about 325 or so.
The Duck at 4 hours:
It got really dark (the bird) at that point. It cooked a lot faster than I anticipated, so I wrapped it in foil and put it aside for a while. I wanted the ABTs to finish first.
The duck at 6 hours, after trying to crisp her up:
Bottom line: the duck was superb. Served with corn on the cob, potatoes, a side salad and a nice Shiraz, it was an excellent feast.
A success overall. And of course, I look forward to trying any suggestions readers may have for the next time.
We had to go to 3 supermarkets to find one, and one it was. There was a lonely frozen bird in the freezer section. We thawed it overnight in a bowl of lightly vinegared (cider) water. When it was just thawed (the parts they stuffed into the inside were still just slightly crystalline, but came out easily), I prepared the bird to marinate. First, I cut the skin with slices about an inch long about an inch aopart to let the fat out when she cooked. I put the bird in a bag with a marinade of half cider vinegar, half soy sauce, actually this stuff my wife bought called Bragg's Liquid Aminos, a soy product that tastes just like soy sauce but isn't fermented. I don't know if the use of this particular product affected the outcome any. It marinated in the fridge for about three hours.
We sprinkled it inside and out with a 50-50 mix of coarse kosher salt and coarse cracked black pepper. I smoked it for about four hours at 225 using maple wood in the Traeger, then I transferred it to the Weber to cook on indirect, higher heat in an attempt to get the skin to crisp, and put the ABTs in the Traeger. The skin was quite dark, which scared me, but the inside temp was around 165 at that point, with some temps higher: in the leg, for example. The Weber was at about 325 or so.
The Duck at 4 hours:
It got really dark (the bird) at that point. It cooked a lot faster than I anticipated, so I wrapped it in foil and put it aside for a while. I wanted the ABTs to finish first.
The duck at 6 hours, after trying to crisp her up:
Bottom line: the duck was superb. Served with corn on the cob, potatoes, a side salad and a nice Shiraz, it was an excellent feast.
A success overall. And of course, I look forward to trying any suggestions readers may have for the next time.