Grill roasting - cooking a whole duck in a scorching-hot grill - is a great way to cook a whole duck. This method works best for wild and Muscovy ducks, less so for fatty, standard supermarket Pekin ducks. Hank's rule: the smaller the bird, the higher the heat. This allows for crispy skin without overcooking the meat. With this goal, speed is your greatest ally. This crispy roast duck recipe appears in Duck, Duck, Goose by Hank Shaw.
Course Entree
Cuisine American
Prep Time 30minutes
Cook Time 15minutes
Total Time 45minutes
Servings 4
Calories 2624kcal
Author Hank Shaw
Ingredients
2wild ducksor 1 Muscovy duck
2tablespoonsvegetable oil
1tablespoonkosher salt
Juice of 1 lemon
Freshly ground pepper
Instructions
Start with a room-temperature bird by setting it out on the counter for 30 minutes or so. Fashion a drip pan for your grill out of aluminum foil, or use a cheap foil roasting pan from the supermarket, and pour water into it to a depth of 1/4 inch. This will catch any dripping fat and prevent it from igniting.
Set up your grill with an open space to one side. This means leaving off one of the three burners on a gas grill, or keeping a spot open on a charcoal- or wood-fired grill. The drip pan goes in the open space or on the unused burner. Get the grill, with its cover down, really hot, at least 500°F (260°C); even 600°F (315°C) is not too hot. Watch it if your temperature gets any higher, however, because duck fat can catch fire when the temperature climbs above 700°F (315°C).
Coat your ducks with the oil and then season them well with the salt. Quickly open the cover of the grill and put the ducks, breast side up, on the open spot, over the drip pan. Re-cover the grill.
A small teal can be fully roasted in 10 minutes. A large duck, such as a canvasback or mallard, will take about 15 minutes at 600°F (315°C), but never more than 22 minutes, as long as the heat is 500°F (260°C) or higher.
Take the ducks out and set them on a cutting board. Tent them loosely with foil and let them rest for as little as 5 minutes for a teal to as long as 15 minutes for a canvasback. Carve and serve with pepper and lemon wedges on the side. Simple--and perfect.