# Duck on the Weber Beast!



## bbally (Jan 4, 2010)

Little cold out here in Colorado today, so I figured instead of low and slow I would drag the Weber Beast out and do a crispy duck with smoke!

The Weber Kettle is an amazing tool for producing excellent foods.  But many people fail to realize it is an oven, that unlike you indoor oven, can have smoke chips put in it to enhance a roasted meal like never before.  Now I am not talking about the wet tender type meat of the low and slow smokers, I am talking crispy skin just like momma's oven roasted chicken, but with that ever sought after hint of mesquite in it!  And so I drag out to the barbeque area to see if the BEAST is ready for some cooking.








Load her up with the fuels that she will require to perform the duck roasting.  And fire off the coal.







I start to fabricate the duck while the coal comes up to heat.  This is a peking duck which is an excellent roasting variety.  But they need work to look good on the grill.  To many people fail to truss up their birds.  End up with something that looks like a bird that went through a smokey fire and then hit a windshield.  Or if they laid it on its back in a low and slow, it ends up looking like a hooker ready for business.  Niether of which offer the look at the table you should want for all the work you put into preparing it, take the time to truss it so it looks good on the table.







To enhance the natural taste of the duck, I want earthy items.  In this case I am using oranges, raisins, onions, and figs.  Along with a little garlic, salt and pepper.







All this goes inside to baste the bird in earthy flavors from the inside while the outside is roast to a nice crispy finish.  A word on the internal basting, if you are going to do an aeromatic stuff, please remember to pierce the membrane inside the body cavity of the poultry or fowl you are working with at the time.  I have watched so many people stuff a bird with aeromatics and never pierce the membrane.  While I am sure the fire pit and grease trap love them, the bird gets about nothing from it if you don't get in there and pierce some holes with a fork or knife.  Just a hint, but a big one for flavorful meat.

About all filled up.







Once you have salted, peppered and stuffed your aeromatics in, you can start to truss the victim up.







Couple of half hitches to hold those wings against the body, and a few on the thighs and legs ends will do.  You are tying tight against the body so these parts don't burn up during the roasting process.  Once complete it is time to get back to the fire.







Those of you used to using a kettle will understand what I am doing.  For those who are newer to it.  I am heating from one side of the kettle and roasting the bird on the opposite.  Under the bird is the mesquite for the smoke.  When the lid goes down the coal will start the mesquite smoking, the juice and fats from the bird will keep it moist enough that it will smoke and not flare up into fire.  At first I keep the exit port on my weber kettle's lid above the coals.  This allows the bird to expel moisture down onto the mesquite pieces, after 30 minutes I will change the lid port to be directly over the duck.  This will bring the temperature around the duck close to 375 F giving me that crispy skin that only a duck can produce!

After one and a half hours the duck starts to take on the look of fine roasted dinner.







For side dishes I am doing cranberry, corn, and cornbread stuffing.  Pretty simple but a nice quick meal with the smoke and using the weber kettle as the oven.







Off the Weber and onto the plate.  This duck is ready to be sliced and eaten.







And this was dinner tonight.







'til we talk again, explore that kettle, they are just a big outdoor oven.  And the can cook just as fast as an indoor oven if you want them too.


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## the dude abides (Jan 4, 2010)

Great looking smoke bbally.  I cut my teeth on a Kettle.  Loved the comedy of your post.







for the awesome tutorial.  I never knew about piercing the interior membrane.


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## hhookk (Jan 4, 2010)

That looks great. I love a nice duck.


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## scarbelly (Jan 4, 2010)

I too did not know about the membrane and have added it to my to do list on all birds in the futrue


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## rickw (Jan 4, 2010)

Oh man, that looks freakin amazing. I just got a Weber kettle so I sure am interested in this one.


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## lifterpuller (Jan 4, 2010)

That looks awesome.

I cook a lot of wild ducks similarly. It's quick,easy and fantastic.

I definitely gained valuable knowledge from this qview.

I'm assuming from the pics you gauge everything off of skin color/crispiness instead of using a thermometer?


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## alx (Jan 4, 2010)

Bob that is some of the finest looking duck i have ever seen...That stuffing sounds fantastico....


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## eaglewing (Jan 4, 2010)

*I'm doing a Duck this weekend to go along with Pulled Pork for a week late 'New Years' party.*

I love your tip on tying it up that way but I can't eat Raisins or Figs or Oranges... I am allergic to Fructose and those 3 items are one of the biggest source of that...

Any other suggestions on stuffing items?? Celery ok? Onions yes but what else?? I just can't have it be fruit. Apples might be ok but nothing else.

I got to get me some of that string!!!!


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## bbally (Jan 5, 2010)

celery, parsnips, carrots, shallots will work well.  If you are allowed ginger, shred some ginger root into it.


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## ak1 (Dec 19, 2010)

I'm glad I found this thread!

I'm cooking duck on my beast today.

Thanks bbally for this post.


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## bbally (Dec 19, 2010)

AK1 said:


> I'm glad I found this thread!
> 
> I'm cooking duck on my beast today.
> 
> Thanks bbally for this post.


You are most welcome.


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## ak1 (Dec 19, 2010)

Would you mind if I posted my pics in this thread, rather than starting a new one?


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## fourthwind (Dec 19, 2010)

I am glad you found this post too..  Great looking duck!   You can sure tell it's pen raised!  The meat has a very nice light color to it.   Might have to try that one out on my "beast"  Although it might get mad at me for cooking something other than turkeys on it!


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## cycletrash (Dec 19, 2010)

I need to go get a duck now !


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## rdknb (Dec 19, 2010)

I love duck and yours looks veery good


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## bbally (Dec 19, 2010)

AK1 said:


> Would you mind if I posted my pics in this thread, rather than starting a new one?




 That would be great.... make it more of a duck cooking thread than bbally blabbing on about cooking a duck!

Post away you are the one that resurrected the thread....


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## ak1 (Dec 19, 2010)

Thanks to bbally, I was inspired to cook some duck today

I pulled out the kettle and basically used his method.

Here's a few pics. First one is the duck put on the grill, and the second is the duck done.


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## rw willy (Dec 19, 2010)

Excellent pics and post. They look great.  All two of them.


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## chefrob (Dec 19, 2010)

looks good..........did ya brine at all, S&P only?


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## ak1 (Dec 19, 2010)

I didn't get any pics of the duck sliced up and served, since the camera decided to die after I took the finished pic.

Basically, what I did was stuff the duck with some onion, carrot, orange and apple, as per bbally's directions, then smoke roasted it with some mesquite wood mixed with some apple. Instead of briquettes I used Basques lump charcoal, which is pure sugar maple. I didn't get that really nice colour that bbally got, mine was a bit lighter. 

Unfortunately, I let it go a bit to long. Still very tasty, but just didn't quite have the texture of a perfectly cooked duck. 

Fortunately, my local grocery store had duck on sale for 2 bucks per pound and I bought 8 of them, so I've got some chance to experiment


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## ak1 (Dec 19, 2010)

Forgot to mention, the remains of the carcass are now in a big stock pot boiling down to make duck stock.


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## chefrob (Dec 19, 2010)

$2/lb.............


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## bbally (Dec 19, 2010)

AK1 said:


> I didn't get any pics of the duck sliced up and served, since the camera decided to die after I took the finished pic.
> 
> Basically, what I did was stuff the duck with some onion, carrot, orange and apple, as per bbally's directions, then smoke roasted it with some mesquite wood mixed with some apple. Instead of briquettes I used Basques lump charcoal, which is pure sugar maple. I didn't get that really nice colour that bbally got, mine was a bit lighter.
> 
> ...


2 bucks a pound?  That is a great price!!!!!

Nice looking duck......


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## ak1 (Dec 19, 2010)

Yeah, sometimes I get silly prices on meat. It seems like the local stores decide to get silly on meat prices just to get customers to come in.


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## huntnfool (Sep 26, 2013)

This looks great! I have a couple of wood ducks which are much smaller than domestic, any ideas on cooking time adjustments?


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## bama bbq (Sep 26, 2013)

I doubt you are going to get a reply from the OP on a 3 yr old post. I recommend starting a new post and linking to this post as a reference point.


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