Smoked Whole Duck with Orange Maple Glaze
This Smoked Duck with Orange Maple Glaze is perfect for a show-stopping dinner. The duck is first dry brined, then rubbed with flavorful spices and smoked to perfection, then topped off with a delicious orange and maple glaze. The result is incredibly juicy duck meat with an amazing smoke flavor that will have your guests begging for seconds.
Smoked Whole Duck
My dad was an avid goose and duck hunter, so we always had Christmas Goose and Christmas Duck. I love dark meat, so duck was always one of my favorites. While I love roast duck in the oven with bacon, the pellet grill takes the flavor to a whole new level. I think this recipe is the best duck I have ever made.
Because everyone loves crispy skin, I dry brined the duck first to help draw moisture out of the skin. I also made my own dry rub that adds so much flavor and crisps up nicely when the smoker is turned up to a higher temperature. And the best part is the orange maple glaze finish. Not too sweet but full of flavor, it adds the perfect finishing touch.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Whole duck. I used a 5-pound whole duck. You can use a fresh duck or a farmed duck. If using a frozen duck, make sure to defrost it in the refrigerator for 48 hours first.
- Dry brine. I made a dry brine out of kosher salt, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, dried thyme leaves, and dried rosemary leaves.
- Dry rub. I made a homemade dry rub for duck out of brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, ground cinnamon, and cayenne pepper. You could also use my Best Dry Rub For Smoked Chicken or Best Turkey Rub For Smoking.
- Orange glaze. This is the ‘icing on the cake,’ so to speak. I used orange juice, maple syrup, brown sugar, soy sauce, fresh ginger, and fresh garlic. You could use honey instead of maple syrup.
