Tea Smoked Duck

I found a couple small (2 1/2 lb) frozen skinless ducks while defrosting the freezer. I put them in the refrigerator for a slow thaw with plans to smoke them. I've done them before using the info from Steve Raichlen's site Primal Grill.

Weather... Holy cow! Last night and yesterday we had the most rain and flooding since we moved here in '87. Water is flowing over our street by the creek and parallel streets on either side are closed due to flooding. Right now it is raining lightly, temperature is 60°F and wind is light.

I put the ducks into a ziplock gallon bag (they barely fit) and added a double recipe of the marinade last night. This morning I flipped the bag over to help distribute the marinade.

I decided to fire up the 18.5 kettle - my oldest Weber - for this cook. It has the daisy wheel dampers (like the WSM) which will provide better temperature control compared to the one touch system on modern kettles. I'm using some of that funny shaped Royal Oak briquettes with some apple and cherry chunks as well as the tea smoking mix wrapped in foil. I used about half a chimney of briquettes. One bottom vent is closed and two others are open about 1/3. They're a little loose so they are probably admitting more air than I really want. The charcoal slightly overflows a single charcoal basket. Temperature is monitored using the dual purpose probe on the ET-732 stuck through the vent. This is probably not the best, but I don't think temperature is critical for fowl. I'll check for doneness using the Maverick Weekend Warrior probe.

time	temp	comment
2:21 PM		Ducks on!
2:38	361°
3:05	358°	Brushed birds with some sesame oil.
3:30	325°	Threw a couple more briquettes on though there seemed to be plenty left of the original charge. Poked a thermo in the duck breasts and they were 155-160° so they should be done soon. I also rotated them to put the other side closer to the fire.

They were good!

No need to do anything different. :D

What to do with those Easter eggs?

Smoke them!

Weather is frosty at 32°F and wind light at just under 10 mph.

Eggs were boiled and peeled. We never got around to coloring them. :(

This is going to be a quick smoke on the mini. I did use the mini-chimney again. :D I added a couple small chunks of cherry for smoke wood. I started out with both vents on the SJG (Smokey Joe Gold) about 1/3 open but at about 5 minutes I closed one completely. I also then added an empty water pan which I had left out.

time	temp	comment
9:45 AM	°	Eggs on!
9:49	333°/255° (grate/lid)	Added empty water pan.
9:55	271°/?	That's better - I don't need too much heat in the eggs.
10:05	289°/240°	Eggs off!

Results

I just need to remember to put the diffuser pan in place before starting the smoke.

But wait! There's more. I was wondering what else to do with a hot smoker and decided to throw the three rib bones on that I had trimmed off the standing rib roast when carving it. That should make a nice lunch. :D


Outside temp is now up to 34°F.

I opened the mini-WSM up and threw on a few more pieces of lump. I had already closed it up, but the vents on the SJG do not close very tightly so some coals were still burning. I also threw on a couple pieces of oak and a chunk of mesquite. In a few minutes the wood was smouldering so I closed things up and put the meat on. I also opened one bottom vent about 25%.

time	temp	comment
10:45 AM		Bones on!
10:51	307°/?
10:56	322°/210°	Closed the single bottom vent to just a crack open. (Top vent still wide open.)
11:30	319°/?	Meat off.

The ribs and other piece were very tasty but the rib was pretty gristly. I put the other two back on a much cooler grill (225-250°) and left them on for a couple hours. I'll find out if that helped when I eat them.