tony b

As promised, a series of pics showing the various steps to the duck cook for tonight. First, get a duck, duh! Loved the name! Then, when thawed, blow up yer duck! (Separate the skin from the flesh) This is the fun part! Then, rub the skin with equal parts Baking Powder and Kosher Salt. Note - NOT Baking Soda, Baking Powder! Put into fridge and let skin dry for 24 hours (or at least overnight) It will have a noticeable texture difference. Now, bath time - shower the duck with boiling water, honey, hoisin sauce and Chinese 5 spice powder. Back to the fridge to dry for another 24 hours (or at least overnight). Then we oil it up (canola with a few drops of sesame oil), then dry rubbed. I used Dizzy Pig Tsunami Spin and Purple Crack. Into the rotisserie rack. Onto the pre-heated KK @ 350F direct with cherry wood chunks (no smoking pot). Cooked to an IT in the breast of 160F. Took about 90 minutes. Notice the MEATER probe sticking out the left side of the breast. Worked great. Resting. Good color and most of the fat did render out. Skin was only slightly crispy. Probably could have used another 15 - 20 minutes? But was concerned about overcooking the meat. Plated, with coconut rice and roasted carrots (orange oil with tarragon and purple crack) The things we do for food! Pulled it off, despite outside temps around zero and wind chills around -15F. But, after 3 days of prep, I wasn't about to wuss out now. Happy New Year, Ya'll!

Thanks for the tip, Tyrus. I've heard of it, but never tried it. I'll look, but probably not available here. But, I bet that I can pick up a bottle at Binny's next time I'm in the Chicagoland area. I'm partial to a local distillery here, Cedar Ridge - they make a 100% Malted Rye Whiskey that's one of my favorites. I'm a HUGE fan of their single malt whiskeys. Their Silver Label series is outstanding - each release is different - they all start out in one of their used bourbon barrels, but are finished in a secondary barrel - wine, port, beer. Just like craft beers, craft whiskey is the way to go!

Happy New Years, Everyone!

Was afraid to say it yesterday, but always remember - How do you know your contractor is lying to you about the budget and/or schedule? Their lips are moving! Regardless, nice looking loaves!

I'd say you're getting the hang of the new grill, Aussie!

Reminded me of old Benny Hill skits!

True dat! No pics of my beer, kegs are kinda boring to look at.

Thanks! And that's just the bourbon stash. Won't show you the single malt whisky stash or you'd be booking a plane ticket to Cedar Rapids - LOL!!!

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I'm sensing some serious math skills hiding underneath this BBQ exterior? I underestimated you - my bad! That would be "tasty" bits in my book, but I suppose that's an English equivalent term, as they aren't very visually appealing typically. Not to be confused with "naughty bits!" LOL!!

Sorry to hear that MacKenzie. Fingers crossed that they get it up and running again tomorrow as promised.

Hang in there, Aussie, my package from Charles arrived in the mail today!

Yeah, it does, especially when you get snowed in like us! This was the haul from the Bourbon Trail run 2 years ago. Most of it's gone, but a few still have some left in them. Can't seem to find the pic of last years haul?

Tasty stuff indeed, Aussie! I visited their distillery last year and came home with this version. As a bourbon expert once told me - "Always buy cask strength if you can get it. Why pay them to water it down for you?" Oh, if you're wondering why it's not opened - I bought a few others while I was there, too!

Not a lot of benefit over other methods and using it really slows down your pre-heat time. It soaks up a lot of heat, as it's made from the same material as the walls. I haven't used mine in years. If I'm just looking to cook indirectly, it's usually just a sheet of foil; but if the cook is going to drip a lot of fat, then I'll go with a drip pan to catch it to prevent a lot of bad smoke. If you're going with shredded lamb, I understand the cooking technique you proposed now. To quote a previous POTUS - "Stay the course." I based my connective tissue comment on memory/experience. I've never looked for comparative data like you found - interesting though. To put that comparison into a proper perspective - the brisket has almost 50% more connective tissue than the lamb shoulder, so they aren't actually very close at all. While potentially a bit messy, you could always put your empty le Creuset pans under the lamb to start with to catch the drippings, then add the potatoes at the proper time for them to finish with the meat?

Sounds yummy - looking forward to pics! Too damned cold to grill out here - wind chills today are in the -20F range! But, Hey, it's a SUNNY 20 below zero - LOL!!

@ckreef - I drank most of the bottle of prosecco myself, after polishing off a bottle of wine with dinner, with a little help from my BIL. So, I was "festive" as well - LOL!! @Aussie Ora - Woo, Hoo! USPS acknowledges the tracking number!

Wuss!

Gonna be a bit of a challenge to do the Peking Duck on the rotisserie like I'd planned. Fortunately, I keep the basket in the house, so it won't be cold to work with. Fingers crossed it's not windy or it'll drop the wind chills down into dangerous territory and I'll probably bail on the cook.

I just "blowed up the duck!" (it's really fun to do!) and gave it the baking powder/salt rub down. Resting in the fridge until tomorrow when it gets its honey bath. Don't worry, I'm taking pics along the way and will post them all at the end.

Define "nasty weather for NOLA," Robert! It's snowing here (up to 6" predicted) and the temperatures aren't supposed to be above ZERO degrees F for 4 days!

Sounds killer! I was drinking Bellini (peach nectar & prosecco) over the weekend. Your stuff might work, too. Worth a try! Ordered some stuff for you and Aussie's boxes. Should arrive next week, so I hope to get yours in the mail by week's end.

Ignore the deflector stone advice. No one uses theirs any more. Either use a drip pan or a sheet of aluminum foil on the lower grate instead. With this much fat rendering, I'd go with the drip pan. If you can't get 2 shoulders on the main grate, then you're obviously going to stack on upper/main. The one on the upper grate will cook faster, so use that one for your meat temperature probe (if you don't have one for each shoulder.) If you can, try and swap them half way through the cook to even the times out some. For lamb, I'd cook at a higher temp - 325F, as there's not as much connective tissue to break down like in a butt or a brisket. Will shorten your cooking time, use less charcoal, and likely render out more fat. YMMV Let us know how it turns out, with pics, please!