Whether seeking duck’s amazing skin, or just pure unadulterated fattiness, duck is a great changeup from poultry. It's something, at least in my case, I always come back to.
Prep a 4-5 pound duck by trussing and mounting to a rotisserie rod. Dry the outside of the skin well and season generously with salt and pepper.
Prepare the grill for indirect medium. On the Summit, I run the rotisserie burner on high and the two furthest outside burners on medium and then later kill the rotisserie burner 30 minutes into the cook. No matter what you do, seek to maintain 350 degrees F.
Mount the duck on the grill. Be sure to use a drip pan. The duck will render a large amount of fat which is very important to catch, so as to not muck up the inside of the grill.
The duck will take about an hour to an hour and fifteen minute to cook. Ideally, I like to serve duck medium to medium rare. The longer you cook it, the tougher it can become.
When the duck breast reads around 130-135 degrees with an internal thermometer, remove the duck from the grill.
Allow the duck to rest a few minutes and then carve. Be sure to slice the breasts thin. I’m lucky to obtain my duck from sportsmen friends, and while I trust them, I really don’t want to bite down on buckshot. I sort of like my smile the way it is.
After I worked my way through the breasts, I stripped the carcass for leftovers. The next day, my duck tacos, with a little bit of pickled red onion and cilantro, were great. Almost as good as the breast meat the night before.Â
Grilled duck is a special gift that keeps on giving. I highly recommend it.
