Grilled duck is duck with a thin and crispy skin, prepared on a gas or charcoal grill over indirect heat, while being basted frequently with citric mix or a spice rub of choice. The duck imbibes the fruity and sweet flavors very well. Citrus rind, apple cider vinegar, orange juice, or berries can be used to enhance the duck’s flavor. The grilled duck recipe may also suggest the use of ginger, Asian spices, and garlic cloves.
Uncooked duck contains a lot of greasy fat, which is not meant for consumption. Ideally, cooked duck should contain no fat or very less fat. Cooking duck through slow roasting method helps in getting rid of all the fat successfully. In such a case, grill is the best culinary tool to prepare it.
Preparation Synopsis
There are several grilled duck recipe variations, with the difference lying mainly in the use of distinct ingredients. However, the method of preparation almost remains the same in all the variations. The duck is often flavored with spices, apple cider vinegar, berries, or orange juice prior to grilling process. A mixture of olive oil, orange juice, rosemary, salt, and pepper serves as a very good rub and basting mixture for the duck. A spice mix made with dry mustard, sweet paprika, cinnamon, five spice powder, ground coriander, and chili can also be used as the rub and basting mix for duck. Any kind of grill viz. gas grill or charcoal grill can be used for grilling duck. The duck is frequently basted with the spice rub or any other prepared mixture during the grilling process. The grilling process of duck takes around 2-3 hours. The end result would give a nice brown color to the surface of the duck, with a thin and crispy skin.
Tips to Grill Duck
- It is strongly recommended to keep a drip pan below the duck in the grill, in order to collect the duck fat as it drips off during grilling.
- In order to allow the fat to drip off properly from the duck, it is suggested to push the knife in a gentle manner through the duck’s skin. The fats would easily drip out through the vents created in the duck.
- Duck is grilled for around 2-3 hours over indirect heat, so as to allow the entire fat to melt away properly.
- The grilling process should be brought to an end when the skin of the duck becomes crispy and thin, which is an indication that all the fat has been melted away.
Nutrition and Health Facts
The health benefits of grilled duck can be explained in terms of nutrients contained in duck:
- Protein- being a good source of protein, the consumption of duck helps in formation of hormones, cells, tissues, and enzymes in the human body. Further, the health of the immune system is also boosted up. Feeding the body with adequate amount of protein would also assist in formation of some specific antibodies which help in fighting against infections successfully. 55% of the daily requirement of protein can be easily met with the help of consumption of 100 g of duck.
- Iron- Duck is enriched with excellent amount of iron, thus serving as a very good dietary product for adolescents and growing children. Further, ample iron content in duck helps in production of hemoglobin which is the primary constituent of red blood cells.
