Cooking Duck on the Grill

How to cook a duck on the grill.

First of all there is a huge difference between duck you get from the grocery store and ducks you harvest while hunting. This article will deal with your average grocery store duck, or duckling.

Defrost; I prefer to leave my duck out overnight, letting the duck thaw on it own.In the morning you can place the duck in the refrigerator for safe keeping.

If you like you can marinade your duck in a solution of your choosing. Duck is nothing like chicken, ducks have a layer of fat just under the skin that has to be eliminated to make the duck edible. There are two ways to do this, you can either boil the duck for a time to get the fat out, but that seals the meat and does not allow for the smoke from the grill or fire to penetrate the meat and give it that grilled flavor.

My preferred method is to use a sharp knife to make multiple cuts in the skin. Be careful not to penetrate the meat, you want only to penetrate the skin. This allows the fat under the skin to burn off and yet the meat will retain its natural juices.

I use a rotisserie, if you don't have a rotisserie you can use a spit or even one of the beer can chicken cookers. But you will need to place a pan under the bird to catch the drippings. The drippings are the excess fat and if you allow them to go into your grill they will create quite a fire.

Seasonings; duck is very flavorful, unless you desire it seasoning is not really necessary, I prefer to use a seasoning salt for the exterior while stuffing fresh ginger and garlic in the duck. The ginger and garlic leach through the meat and give it an interesting flavor. I also like to ad some hickory, mesquite and even cherry to give it a smoky flavor.

Most store bought ducks will require 2-3 hours of cooking at a temperature of 350-400. When cooked on a grill or fire, the duck will have a wonderful crispy skin texture that in my opinion is the best meat available. While we enjoy lamb and venison, all I have to say to my grand kids is "were having duck tonight" and we will have a house full of hungry kids.

Grilled duck has become their favorite meal. My eight year old granddaughter called me tonight and asked what we were doing, when I told her I was grilling a duck, she squealed with glee! She told her mommy to bring her and her cousin over to Pops house because we were grilling duck!

A meet thermometer is helpful, after about two hours you will want to check your duck on the grill for an internal temperature. You want your duck to have an internal temperature of 180 to 190 degrees. Like most fowl, you do not want to see red, or blood in the meat. 180-190 will mean that all of the internal meat has reached the point of being fully cooked.

The exterior should be golden brown with a bit of blackening, the crispy skin is delicious and the meat is juicy and flavorful.

We usually serve up some corn on the cob and some cheesy potatoes to go with it.

It makes for some very happy grandchildren.

So give it a try, most grocery stores carry duckling, if they don't you can ask at the meat counter and they can usually order it. Duck has slightly less meat than chicken, but with some side dishes one duck can feed a family of 5 or 6.

I had almost forgotten the best part! No matter what kind of game I cook, the heart is always the most delicious part. Ducks have a very small heart, but like all poultry, they also have liver and gizzards. I chose to cook the entrails and the neck with a bit of olive oil, some seasoning salt and a bit of fresh ginger. This time my wife got the heart, I ate the liver and the grand kids gobbled down the gizzards.

We divided up the neck to our two dogs so they would not be left out.

The kids loved it!

Enjoy!