Smoked Duck Breast

If you love smoked duck breast without the dry livery taste, then this method is for you. This recipe walks you through a proper smoked duck breast brine and gentle smoke at 200°F. I also included a wild-duck-specific technique that allows the lean little breasts to stay in the smoker long enough to pick up real smoke flavor without overcooking.

Whether you’re working with wild duck breast from the marsh or a pack of domestic duck breasts from the store, this gives you that moist, sliceable, almost “duck ham” texture with a fantastic smoky flavor.

If you want more ideas for using duck and goose across the season, you can browse all of my wild duck and goose recipes.

What Makes This Smoked Duck Breast Recipe Stand Out

Here’s what actually makes this smoked duck breast recipe different from most you’ll find online, especially if you cook wild ducks.

Works for wild and domestic duck

The base recipe is written for any skin-on duck breast, but there’s a dedicated method for wild duck breasts so they don’t dry out or overcook before they take on enough smoke.

Brined for moisture and flavor

A simple smoked duck breast brine with kosher salt, a touch of sugar, maple syrup, herbs, and (optional) pink salt helps the meat stay juicy, even when cooked to a higher internal temperature.

“Duck ham” texture

Brining 6–12 hours plus smoking to around 160°F gives the meat a cured, ham-like bite and deep flavor. If you’re chasing a more classic medium-rare smoked duck breast, you can simply shorten the brine time to 2 hours.

Easy technique, restaurant result

You’re basically: make the brine, chill, brine the duck, air dry, then smoke at 200°F. No fancy gear required. This works on a pellet grill such as a Traeger, offset smoker, or electric cabinet smoker.

Great for leftovers and charcuterie boards

Once chilled and sliced thin, this smoked duck breast is perfect for smoked duck breast salad, crostini, canapés, or a charcuterie board next to venison salami, cheeses, and cured duck or goose, like homemade duck prosciutto and goose prosciutto.

Brine Time & Temperature Cheat Sheet

Before you start, decide which style you want:

Duck-ham style (cured, sliceable):

• Brine: 6–12 hours
• Internal temperature: about 160°F

More classic medium-rare to medium smoked duck breast:

• Brine: about 2 hours
• Internal temperature: about 135–145°F

The longer brine and higher internal temperature will push the texture toward duck ham. Shorter brine and lower temp keep it closer to traditional duck breast.

Key Tips for Perfect Smoked Duck Breast

1. Use a brine

This recipe is built around a proper duck brine:

6–12 hours in the brine

• Best for the “duck ham” texture: sliceable, cured, and forgiving when you cook to 160°F.

Reduce the brine time for a classic texture

• Reduce the brine time to 2 hours if you want to prepare more traditional medium-rare to medium smoked duck breast.

The salt and sugar help the meat retain moisture during the smoke. The maple syrup and brown sugar add a subtle sweetness that plays really well with fruit woods like apple and cherry.

2. Dry the skin and the surface

After brining, the duck needs time to dry:

• Pat the duck dry with paper towels.
• Lay the breasts on a wire rack set over a pan.
• Refrigerate uncovered for 4 to 24 hours.

This step does three big things:

• Helps the skin render the fat by reducing surface moisture.
• Forms a tacky surface (pellicle) that improves smoke adhesion.
• Makes the outside of the meat take on that beautiful, even smoke color.

3. Use the wild duck “cylinder” method

Wild duck breasts are small and lean. If you smoke them like big domestic duck breast fillets, they’ll hit your target internal temperature before they ever get real smoke.

The fix:

1. After brining and drying, stack two duck breasts together, flesh sides touching, skin sides out.
2. Roll tightly into a cylinder with plastic wrap.
3. Chill to let the two breasts bind into one “whole breast.”
4. Remove the wrap, tie with butcher’s twine every 2 inches, and dry again on a rack.

Now you’ve got a thicker “log” of meat that can sit in the smoker longer and soak up smoke while still staying moist. It slices beautifully into round coin-shaped pieces. If you like this technique and you also hunt geese, you’ll probably enjoy my smoked goose breast as well.

4. Low-and-slow smoke

For consistent results:

• Smoke at 200°F (93°C).

Internal temperature of the breast:

• Around 160°F for the duck-ham style texture described in this recipe.
• A lower target (say 135–145°F) is possible if you shorten the brine to about 2 hours. This will give you a classic smoked duck texture.

5. Choose the right wood

Duck pairs well with fruit wood.

• Great choices: apple wood, cherry wood, other fruit woods.
• For more assertive smoke: a touch of hickory mixed in, or hickory pellets if you’re running a pellet grill.

Step-by-Step: How to Smoke Duck Breast

Step 1: Make the brine

You’ll start by building a flavorful wet brine:

• Combine water, kosher salt, sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, and optional pink salt in a pot.
• Bring to a boil, dissolve everything, then add garlic, rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns.
• Cool completely in the fridge before adding the duck.

(Full quantities are in the recipe card below.)

Step 2: Brine the duck breasts

• Submerge skin-on duck breasts (wild or domestic) in the chilled brine.
• Use a plate or small weight to keep the breasts under the surface.
• Refrigerate 6 to 12 hours for the duck-ham style texture, or closer to 2 hours if you prefer a more classic smoked duck breast with less cure-like bite.

Step 3: Rinse and dry

• Remove the duck from the brine and discard the brine.
• Rinse the breasts briefly under cold running water to remove surface salt.
• Dry thoroughly with paper towels.
• Place the breasts on a baking rack set over a pan and refrigerate uncovered for 4 to 24 hours to dry the surface.

If using wild duck breasts, see the detailed wild duck method in the recipe notes section below before you move on.

Step 4: Smoke the Duck Breasts

• Preheat your smoker or pellet grill to 200°F.
• Add your preferred wood (apple, cherry, or other fruit woods work great).
• Place the duck breasts skin-side up on the smoker grate or on a wire rack.
• Smoke until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the breast reaches your chosen target:
  • About 160°F for duck-ham style (with a 6–12 hour brine).
  • 135–145°F if you used a shorter 2-hour brine for a classic texture.
• Use an instant-read thermometer and cook to temperature rather than time.

If you want to cook to a lower internal temperature, you can. But I recommend reducing the brine time to about 2 hours to keep the texture from becoming too ham-like.

Step 5: Rest, slice, and serve

• Let the smoked duck rest for at least 10–15 minutes before slicing.
• For the duck-ham style, chill completely, then slice thinly.

Serving and Storage Suggestions

• Serve warm: Sliced and fanned on a plate with roasted vegetables, potatoes, or a bright salad.
• Serve chilled: Thinly sliced for charcuterie, smoked duck breast salad, sandwiches, and crostini.
• Sauce pairing: A little sweet-savory sauce goes a long way here. Try it with my homemade Chinese duck sauce for a classic flavor combo.
• Fridge storage: Store leftover smoked duck breast in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4–5 days.
• Freezer storage: Wrap tightly and freeze for up to 2–3 months. Thaw in the fridge before serving or gently reheating.

If you enjoy experimenting with different rubs, marinades, and brines on lean meat, be sure to check out my wild game seasonings hub for more ideas.

Smoked Duck Breast FAQs

More Duck Recipes

• Duck Fat Rice
• Duck Fat Yorkshire Puddings
• Duck Prosciutto

If you make this smoked duck breast recipe, please leave a review if you have a few minutes. If you have any cooking questions or want to share your latest wild duck creations, give me a shout on Instagram @larry__white.

Smoked Duck Breast

Author: Larry White

Use this smoked duck breast recipe for wild or domestic duck breasts. See the wild duck cylinder method in the note section below if you're working with smaller duck breasts.

5 from 6 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Main Course

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Brine Time6 hours hrs

Servings: 4 Duck Breasts

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

For the Brine

• ▢ 2 quarts water
• ▢ ¾ cup coarse kosher salt (175 grams)
• ▢ ¼ cup sugar
• ▢ 3 teaspoons pink salt, 15 grams (optional)
• ▢ ¼ cup maple syrup
• ▢ ¼ cup dark brown sugar
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• ▢ 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• ▢ ½ bunch fresh thyme
• ▢ 1 bay leaf
• ▢ 2 teaspoons black peppercorns

For the Duck

• ▢ 4 skin-on duck breasts wild or domestic

Instructions

Make the brine

• Add the water, kosher salt, sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, and pink salt (if using) to a pot.
• Bring to a boil over high heat, then immediately turn off the heat.
• Whisk until all the ingredients have dissolved.
• Add the garlic, rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns and give a quick stir.
• Let the mixture cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled throughout.

Brine the duck

• Place the duck breasts into the chilled brine.
• Put a plate or small weight on top to keep them submerged.
• Refrigerate for 6–12 hours for duck-ham style, or about 2 hours if you want a more traditional smoked duck breast texture.

Rinse and dry

• Remove the breasts from the brine and discard the brine.
• Rinse the breasts under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
• If using wild duck breasts and want a better smoke flavor, see the Wild Duck Breast Method in the notes below before proceeding.
• Place the breasts on a baking rack set inside a baking pan and refrigerate uncovered for 4–24 hours to dry the surface.

Smoke the Duck

• Preheat your smoker to 200°F.
• Add your chosen wood (apple, cherry, or a mix with a little hickory).
• Place the duck breasts skin-side up on the smoker grate or on a wire rack.
• Smoke until you reach your target internal temperature: About 160°F for duck ham texture. 135–145°F for a more classic medium-rare to medium texture (with a shorter two-hour brine).

Rest and Slice

• Let the duck rest for 10–15 minutes before slicing if serving warm.

NOTES

Wild Duck Breast Method (Rolled Cylinder Technique)
This method is designed for wild duck breasts, which are smaller and leaner. Shaping them into a cylinder lets them stay in the smoker longer so they take on more smoke without overcooking.

Stack and Wrap

1. After brining, rinse and dry the wild duck breasts with paper towels.
   Place two skin-on duck breasts together, flesh sides touching and skin sides facing out.
2. Use plastic wrap to tightly roll the breasts into a cylinder.

Chill to Set

1. Place the wrapped cylinder in the refrigerator for 4–12 hours so the meat sets into one solid “log.”
2. For even better adherence, you can use meat glue on the flesh sides before rolling (optional).

Tie and Dry

1. Remove the breasts from the plastic wrap.
   Secure the cylinder with butcher’s twine at 2-inch intervals to help it keep its tube shape.
2. Place the cylinder uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator for 4–24 hours to dry the surface and build a pellicle.

Smoke as Directed

1. Smoke the wild duck cylinder at 200°F just as you would a regular breast.
   Cook to your chosen internal temperature (about 160°F for duck-ham style, or lower if you’ve shortened the brine).
2. Let it rest, then slice into round coin-shaped pieces.

Make this recipe?Mention @Larry__White or tag #WildGameGourmet!