Rotisserie Duck with Orange Chipotle Sauce: What’s on the Grill #198

Me: Donald Duck is spinning on the grill.

My friend, Dave: Is he wearing the sailor suit?

Me: No, it burns before the glaze.

Ahhh yes, it seems I can never make duck without somehow disparaging cartoon ducks.  Whether it’s Donald or Daffy, it just seems natural to imagine a crumpled sailor’s suit sitting on the side table while it’s owner spins around in preparation for my dinner plate.  I may have a few bruises and a face full of spittle, but in the end Donald is succumbed by the heat and I can rest and drink a beer.  Good times.

If you can grill chicken, you can grill duck.  Whether you are seeking duck’s amazing skin or just pure unadulterated fattiness, duck is a great changeup from poultry and something, at least in my case, I always come back to.

Rotisserie Duck with Orange Chipotle Sauce

Sauce adapted from Epicurious

1 5lb whole duck

salt

pepper

Sauce

2 1/2 cups fresh orange juice

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

3 tbls maple syrup

1 tbls finely chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo

1 (3- to 4-inch) cinnamon stick

2 whole cloves

1 tsp salt

Potatoes

3 Russet potatoes cut into slices

4 sweet peppers, diced

1.  Prep the duck by trussing and mounting to your rotisserie rod.  Dry the outside of the skin well and season with salt and pepper.  (To achieve extra dry skin, The Flay recommends leaving the duck in the refrigerator uncovered for 24 hours.)

2.  Prepare the grill for indirect medium.  On the 650, I run the rotisserie burner on high and the two furthest outside burners on medium and then later kill the rotisserie burner 30 minutes into the cook. No matter what you do, seek to maintain 350 degrees F. 

3.  Mount the duck on the grill.  Be sure to use a drip pan.  The duck will render a large amount of fat and it is very important to catch it.  Why?  Besides not making a mess of the grill, fat in the pan goes great over 3 russet potatoes cut into slices.  Place them in the pan when you mount the duck.   

4.  While Donald gets dizzy, prepare the sauce by mixing together all of the sauce ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Heat the sauce until syrupy and reduced to about 1 cup.  Once reduced, let stand until the duck is finished.

5.  Periodically, stir the potatoes in the drip pan. 

6. The duck will take about an hour to an hour and fifteen minute to cook.  Ideally, I like to serve duck medium to medium rare.  The longer you cook it, the tougher it can become.

7.  During the last 15 minutes of cooking, brush some of the sauce onto the duck.  Although the duck is probably cooked enough, I pour a little bit of sauce into a separate basting container to avoid any cross contamination issues.

8.  Just prior to removing the duck, dice the sweet peppers and add them into the drip pan with potatoes.  Add some salt and pepper to taste and give a good stir.  If you have rendered an exceptionally large amount of fat, you may want to remove some before adding the peppers.  Your artery clogging plan is up to you.

9.  When the duck breast reads around 130-135 degrees, remove the duck from the grill.  NOTE: when replacing batteries in your digital thermometer, be sure the temperature doesn’t revert to Celsius.  Just saying…not that I didn’t overcook my duck…a little.

10.  Allow the duck to rest a few minutes and then carve.

11.  Slice the breasts thin and drizzle with the sauce.

This turned out really well.  The sauce has a great balance of sweet and hot. I love chipotles in a lot of things (well, most things), so having them in the sauce really worked for me.  The duck?  Great as always.  In fact, after I worked my way through the breasts, I stripped the carcass for leftovers.  The next day, my duck tacos with the orange chipotle sauce drizzled over them were great.  Much like their cartoons, duck is a gift that keeps on giving.