Smoking a Duck: Don't be Afraid of the Quack

A week ago or so, Hope was off for a week visiting old friends.  So, along with the youngest, we took the opportunity to throw some pieces of meat on the smoker that we cannot do when Hope is around. These types of meat would be those that fall into the "Too Cute to Eat" category.  Our first experimentation was with a smoked duck.

Duck, cooked perfectly, is a treat.  The best duck I have ever had was at a restaurant in Beijing that specialized in Peking Duck.  Roasted to perfection, juicy on the inside, crispy on the outside, and sliced thin.  Served with steamed buns, vegetables, and dipping sauces, it is a culinary delight.

So, off to the store for a nice, farm raised duck.

I took the young duckling out of the package, removed the neck and liver from the cavity, rinsed well, patted dry, then placed into a batch of Oakridge Game Changer Brine for a six hour swim.

After the brining, I rinsed the duck and patted dry.  Then, I massaged olive oil all over the outside and sprinkled some Oakridge Game Bird and Chicken rub all over the skin and inside the body cavity.

Just a quick note on the rub.  I love the smell and flavors with this rub.  Chilies, onion, and garlic are balanced perfectly with coriander and mustard powder.  Good stuff.  Just the right amount of sweet heat.  I highly recommend with any game bird or your stand issue yardbird.

I brought the smoker to 350 F and placed some pecan and apple wood in the ash pan.  Then the duck went on the top rack.  Here it is after an hour on the smoker.  The smell was intoxicating.

Once the temperature in the thigh was at 155 F, I glazed with the following:

1/2 cup of Blues Hog Tennessee Red BBQ sauce
1/2 cup of orange juice
1 Tbsp of Soy Sauce
1 tsp of sesame oil
Heat to a simmer and reduce until it starts to get thick.  I was going for Asian/American BBQ fusion.

I brushed on the duck twice in the last 30 minutes of cook time so that the glaze could set.  Then, I pulled the duck at 160 F and let rest for 15 minutes.

How was it?  The rub was great and paired nicely with the sauce.  The meat was tender and juicy and not as fatty as people say duck can be.  I think that cooking on an open rack allowed the fat to drain while cooking.  The skin was not as crispy as I would have liked.  The next time I will poke the skin liberally and scald in hot water.  This is recommended to help promote crispy skin.  My biggest issue was with the amount of meat.  The duck was quite bony and did not yield as much meat as a chicken of the the same size would yield.  This duck was only enough for two.  If you had more people for dinner, you might be cooking a chicken.

Overall, the taste was great.  I am looking forward to smoking another one of our feathered friends.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Moo Cow Ribs

I may be sacrilegious here, but I prefer a beef rib over any pork rib.  If cooked correctly:  crispy, rendered fat, the perfect rub creating a nice bark, lightly sauced or not, a beef rib can be heaven.  As a matter of fact, there is a place around here that takes the ribs from their weekend prime rib special, roasts them with some rub, and serves them as a special on Monday.  Outstanding.

Unfortunately, It is hard to find a full rack of beef ribs.  You usually get short ribs at the grocery.  Those are beef ribs cut across the bone.  They can be tough and hard to cook.  Or, you can get shorties:  single bones that are just not made for grilling or smoking.  For a full primer, check out this post from Amazing Ribs.

The last time we went to Restaurant Depot, they had full racks of beef back ribs.  So, into the cart they went.  We cut into racks of four bones and cyropacked for later consumption.

Don't those look beautiful?  I didn't know whether or not to smoke them or make the best pot of beef noodle soup ever.  I decided to smoke them, but soup in in the future this winter.

After pulling the membrane off of the back, I placed a light coat of rub on the underside of the rack.  Then, I flipped over and massaged some olive oil on the top, then placed a liberal coating of rub.  I used Oakridge Special Ops brisket rub for this cook.

While the ribs rested at room temperature, I brought the smoker up to 250 F and placed pecan in the ash pan for flavor.

The ribs took about 4 hours at 250 F to come to 184 F internal.  The probe was sliding through the ribs like butter.  This sweet spot can happen anytime between 180 and 190 F.  Once I hit this BBQ sweet spot, I pulled and let the rack rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

No sauce today.  I was looking for a nice, smoked beef flavor accented by a good beef rub.  I did not want to hide those tastes in even a light coating of rub.

Served with some fresh corn, this was a great holiday weekend treat.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Bacon Wrapped Country Style Ribs

For our next competition, we have to prepare an "Anything Wrapped in Bacon" entry.  After some thinking, I thought, what better to wrap in bacon than pork.  So, we bought some country style pork ribs this past weekend and experimented.

First, I trimmed any bone, gristle, and excess fat away from my ribs.

Then, I marinaded for about five hours in a bottle of Stubbs Pork Marinade.  Stubbs pork has a nice blend of vinegar, citrus, chili, and mustard seed.  I really like this marinade when I grill pork steaks.

After the marinade, I sprinkled both sides liberally with Oakridge Secret Weapon Pork and Chicken Rub.

Then, I wrapped in bacon.

Then, onto a 350 F smoker with peach and hickory in the ash pan.  Here they are after 45 minutes.

Then, I dunked in a mix of Blues Hog Regular, Blues Hog Tennessee Red, honey, and apple juice.  Then, back on the smoker for 15 more minutes to set the glaze.

How were they?  Well, the meat was tender.  But, the Stubbs marinade does not play well with the BBQ sauce.  The tasters that I had on the side that were just rub and marinade were good.  But, for this competition, I believe we will be leaving the marinade behind.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill