Smoked Duck Breast
Duck breast wants medium-rare and crisp skin, nothing more. Wild duck runs lean, domestic carries more fat. Score the fat cap in a crosshatch, render it skin-down and low, smoke to 130 to 135F over cherry, then crisp the skin over direct heat. Rest, slice thin on the bias.
- Method
- Reverse Sear
- Total time
- 45 min
- Target internal temp
- 130 to 135F
- Gear
- Folding Chef's Knife, pellet or charcoal grill
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Serves
- 2 to 4
Ingredients
- 4 duck breasts, skin on
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp coarse black pepper
- 1/2 tsp five spice (optional)
The Cook
- 01
Score the fat cap in a tight crosshatch with the chef's knife, cutting into the fat but not into the meat.
- 02
Season both sides with salt and pepper, working salt into the scored fat.
- 03
Set up the grill for 250F indirect with cherry wood.
- 04
Lay the breasts skin-down to render the fat slow as they take on smoke.
- 05
Smoke to 130 to 135F internal for medium-rare. Failure point: push past 135F and lean duck turns dense and livery.
- 06
Move the breasts skin-down over direct heat and crisp the skin hard, 1 to 2 minutes, watching for flare-ups.
- 07
Rest 5 minutes, then slice thin on the bias against the grain.
Doneness
Pull at 130 to 135F for medium-rare. The meat slices rosy and the skin shatters crisp. Wild duck especially goes from perfect to dry fast, so do not chase a higher number.
Pro Tip
Start skin-down in a cold or low zone and let the fat render slow. Throwing scored duck straight onto high heat seizes the skin and leaves the fat layer soft underneath.
Questions
Cooked By Our Readers
Real cooks, real fire.
Build The Kit
Two or more pieces.
10% off your order.
Every BLCK ANVL piece is built in the same shop that runs ATV parts. Run two or more in your cart and the discount applies on its own. No code.
