Mastering the Grill_ The Owner's Manual for Outdoor Cooking - Andrew Schloss [179]
Clean, oiled grate set 4 inches above the fire
INGREDIENTS (MAKES 4 SERVINGS)
1 Long Island duckling, about 4½ pounds, visible fat removed
1 cup Peking Crackle (page 385)
12 crêpes (recipe at left)
2 scallions, roots trimmed, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
DIRECTIONS
1. Extend the plunger of the bicycle pump and insert the needle just under the skin at the neck end of the duck. Depress the plunger, and the skin around the needle will puff up. Continue to pump air under the duck skin in the same way until the skin has been separated from the meat all over the breast and legs (see illlustration).
2. Heat a kettle of water to boiling. Put the duck, breast-side up, in a strainer set in a sink. Pour the boiling water over the duck. Hook a chopstick under the wings of the duck to hold them away from the body. Tie a string around the neck and hang the duck by the string over a sink or a large drip pan. Put an electric fan in front of the duck and blow air directly on it for about an hour to dry the skin.
3. Brush the duck with half of the Peking crackle and dry for another hour.
4. While the duck is drying, prepare the crêpes.
5. Heat the grill as directed.
6. Put the duck, breast-side up, on a rack set in a disposable roasting pan. Put the pan on the grill away from the heat, cover the grill, and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 165°F about 1 hour, basting with the remaining glaze halfway through. If your grill has an external thermometer, it should stay at around 375°F during that time.
7. Remove the duck to a cutting board. Carve it as you would a chicken (see page 184). Lift the skin from the meat and cut it into strips. Cut the meat into large, bite-size chunks. Arrange the meat on a platter scattered with scallions and strips of crisp skin. Serve with the hoisin sauce and crêpes for rolling.
GRILLED THANKSGIVING
At first glance it seems iconoclastic to grill Thanksgiving dinner, but upon reflection it is ultimately fitting to have the definitive American meal prepared by the most American of cooking methods. Here you will find a completely grilled menu, including timetable and recipes. The recipes for four of the elements (turkey, sauce, stuffing, and cranberries) are right here. Recipes for the vegetables and dessert are from other chapters. When you bring it all to the table and gather around, we think you will find the spread so spectacular and each dish so delicious that you will wonder why grilling Thanksgiving wasn’t part of your tradition long ago.
THE MENU
• Grill-Roasted Turkey with Apple Cider Jus (page 249)
• Grilled Vegetable Stuffing (page 249)
• Grilled Pear and Cranberry Compote (page 250)
• Grilled Harvest Vegetables with Rosemary-Red Wine Sauce (page 283)
• Grilled Fennel Bathed with Riesling (page 293)
• Fire-Baked Apples with Praline Chestnuts and Brandy Dulce de Leche (page 315)
MENU TIMELINE
Day before:
Grill vegetables for stuffing (refrigerate overnight).
Grill pears and prepare pear and cranberry compote (refrigerate overnight).
Roast chestnuts (keep covered at room temperature).
Caramelize milk for dulce de leche (refrigerate overnight).
6 hours ahead:
Remove turkey from the refrigerator.
Remove everything prepared the day before from the refrigerator.
Prepare basting liquid for turkey.
Grill vegetables for harvest vegetables (keep covered at room temperature).
Prepare fennel bathed with riesling (keep covered at room temperature).
4 hours ahead:
Inject basting liquid into turkey and start grilling turkey.
2 hours ahead:
Assemble stuffing (keep warm in 200°F oven).
Put harvest vegetables in 200°F oven to warm up.
Put grilled fennel in 200°F oven to warm up.
Prepare fire-baked apples up to the point of grilling (keep at room temperature).
Finish dulce de leche sauce (keep covered at room temperature).
1 hour ahead:
Check turkey temperature and adjust grill so that it will be done in 30 minutes.
Prepare sauce for harvest vegetables and keep warm.