The most important part of cooking a duck is to get rid of that fat. There are several strategies for doing this like steaming the duck over boiling water for about 20 to 30 minutes. This is a traditional method, but it cooks the duck and blocks the absorption of smoke flavor when you cook it. Another trick is to pierce the skin of the duck at regular intervals, about every one inch over the entire surface of the duck, without cutting into the meat.