How To Roast A Duck On The Barbecue

How To Roast A Duck On The Barbecue


Roast duck on the BBQ for delicious, succulent meat and crispy skin

Duck is a fatty meat so is ideal for roasting on the BBQ as all the fat can drip away from the meat, and make gorgeous gravy. Cook it on the rotisserie attachment for lovely succulent meat and fantastic crispy skin, if you don’t have a rotisserie place the bird directly onto the cooking grate. Cook over an indirect medium heat, placing a large Weber Drip Pan underneath the bird between the charcoal char baskets or on top of the unlit gas burners. Half fill the tray with water and this, together with the juices and fat, will make the base for your gravy. The duck will take 1.5 – 2 hours to cook and is ready when the internal temperature reaches 82C (180F), if you want the meat to 'pull' let the temperature reach 94C (200F). Let it rest for 30 – 45 minutes before serving.

Season both the outside and the internal cavity with sea salt and ground black pepper. If cooking with a stuffing you will have to truss the duck with string to keep it in place before inserting the rotisserie spit.

Glazed duck
You can just keep it simple and brush the duck with orange marmalade, redcurrant jelly or plum sauce 15 minutes before the end. If you coat it at the start of cooking the sugars in the glaze will burn well before the duck is cooked.

Roast duck

Christmas duck

  • 1 large orange
  • 1 cup fresh cranberries
  • 1 cup white breadcrumbs
  • 6 cloves
  • 2tbsp honey
  1. Cut the orange in half and scoop out the flesh into a bowl, removing the membrane, retain the skins.
  2. Add the cranberries, breadcrumbs and honey to the orange and combine; stuff back into the orange skins.
  3. Place the filled skins into the duck cavity.
  4. Stud the skin with the cloves.

Duck with plum and apple

  • 2 apples; peeled, cored and cut into chunks
  • 8 dark red plums; stoned and halved

Stuff the cavity with the fruit.

For more ideas, hints and tips for cooking on the barbecue just go to our youtube channel for lots more recipes, or get in touch with our expert team in The Barbecue Shop here in store.


Profile Image Angela Slater

Angela Slater

Daughter of a farmer and market gardener so have always had a connection with the outdoors, whether it was keeping animals or producing fruit, vegetables and cut flowers. Along with my work at Hayes Garden World I also have a smallholding, mainly breeding rare breed pigs. I gained an HND and BSc in Conservation and Environmental Land Management, as a result I am an ardent environmentalist and have a keen interest in environmentally friendly gardening. In my time at Hayes I worked for several years in the Outdoor Plant and Houseplant areas.