How to cook a cold smoked duck

[Simon Patrice]

I just bought a maple smoked duck through my CSA. I thought that I could eat it right away but it was frozen and, it was cold smoked so it's still raw. Now does anyone have any idea how i should cook this whole duck? Time, temp., techniques? Does the smoking influence anything in the way I should cook it? It's my first time with a whole duck so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[TheSnowpea]

I bet you purchased it via Ferme du Zéphyr as part of the effort to put Andrew Stairs' operation back on its feet! I got one too. Did you ever try it out?

I'm planning on preparing mine for Thanksgiving, and my initial thought is to cook it like a regular duck.

[rockfish42]

Braise the whole thing?
Maybe confit the legs and prepare the breasts med-rare?
Do you have any idea how long they smoked it for?

[TheSnowpea]

I just put mine in the fridge to thaw, so it's difficult to say what state they are in. The seller said they were still considered raw. I will have to wait until my pairs of duckies are thawed before I can assess their state!

I'm also thinking that I'll try to reach my farmer tomorrow to ask him if he knows. He only sells them, he doesn't raise said duckies.

I bought organic pork sausages with apple and cranberries as well.... and now I'm thinking.... cassoulet LOL

EDIT: oh yeah, I just remembered I've got rendered goose fat in the freezer! Not sure if my folks are ready for this kind of thing though!!!

[TheSnowpea]

Got this email from Stephen, owner of Ferme du Zéphyr:

"It does need to be cooked and Andrew recommends cooking it like a regular roasting duck - ie roughly 20 min / lb @ 350 degrees. He also recommends putting wine in the bottom of the roasting dish and covering the breasts (modest those ducks ) so they won't dry."

Which baffles me cuz you'd think it's the legs that might dry, not the breast. I'm gonna have to unwrap the cheesecloth tonight and see how things are! Rockfish may have inspired me to take the birds apart and cook breast and legs in separate fashion.

[rockfish42]

Dark meat takes longer to cook in general due to the increased amount of intramuscular fat. If it's essentially raw you should be fine cooking it anyway that you normally would, though I'd be interested in hearing how the smoke affects whatever you do end up trying.

[TheSnowpea]

I thought I would report what I did in the end, which was to roast the birds whole. And which in retrospect was not the best thing. The ducks may have been cold smoked but obviously the smoke was still hot enough to cook them partially, so when I unwrapped the thawed birds, I found that they were rather stiff and in one piece. It was hard to locate where the leg joints might be. The family was coming early (I can never get them to understand I want them arriving at 5 pm, not 2 or 3 pm, because I'm in the kitchen) so I was feeling too rushed to try dissecting them. The other thing I noticed is that these ducks were quite lean when I pricked the breasts with a fork.

So they went into an oven set at 350F, nestled in a bed of onions and a splish of water. The smoky smell was wonderful and I took them out when the thermometer in the breast hit 160F.

They were difficult to carve, as duck is wont to be, and the magrets were a bit dry (very little fat), with the skin adhering stubbornly to some parts. But they were quite good, over all, but did not entirely blow me away. Something was missing.

My mother mistakenly tossed down the drain the generous cup of beautiful smoky duck fat I had drained off from the pan. (AAAAAAAAAaaaahhhhh!) I am still in mourning over that.

Some of the breast meat was used later during the week to make panini: sliced smoked magret, some nice cheese, arugula, pear, snips of parsley. Those were amazing and we were quite content to have them for several night in a row!

However, this Friday, I made a mock cassoulet with flageolets beans, some beautiful sausage from a local organic farmer, and chopped up smoked duck with its pan drippings and those onions I had put in the pan? OMG. OMG. OMG.

So, Simon, if you still have your duck, take the time to carve it up first and cook it in a moist dish, like a braise, a stew, etc. You will be amazed.