Get Grillin': The Speckled Egg

Cool down with the light cucumber salad from the Speckled Egg.

Sweet, sticky sauces, slow-smoked meats, and savory sides: there’s nothing like the smell of barbeque in the summer. Aficionados know that “barbeque” is a sweeping term that includes American-regional styles like South Carolina’s vinegar-based sauce or Memphis-style slow-smoked, rubbed ribs, as well as many international traditions. Korea hits the sweet-savory mark with their thinly-sliced, grill-marked meats, and tender pork topped with smoky, hot jerk sauce brings the Caribbean into the grill game. Five of Pittsburgh’s grill masters share their masterpieces, from traditional smoked brisket to bulgogi.

Homestyle classics are menu staples at breakfast-all-day spot, The Speckled Egg. Along with delicious toasts and pancakes, find savory delights such as the diner-classic patty melt or chicken salad. Pull out your smoker for their barbeque of choice, a deeply smoked bird partnered with a refreshingly cool cucumber salad.

Smoked Duck Leg Quarters

Equipment:

1 charcoal grill

Kiln-dried hardwood (typically a mixture of oak, cherry, and ash)

Old newspaper or magazine

2 oz kosher salt

2 oz Paul Family Farms maple sugar

1 tbsp turmeric

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tbsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground cardamom

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp ground cinnamon

3 Jurgielewicz & Son duck leg quarters

Instructions

Start a fire using the kiln-dried hardwood and old newspaper. Once the fire is burning, mix all dry-rub ingredients together in a medium-size mixing bowl.

Rub duck leg quarters with generous amounts of rub. Once the fire is burnt down to coals, add 1 or 2 more logs to fire. Close the airflow dampers closest to the fire, and open the chimney damper 1⁄4 of the way. This will keep the fire burning, but not flaming, thus creating copious amounts of smoke, and an even temperature throughout the cooking process.

Once the temperature is at 250 degrees, place the duck legs on indirect heat (farthest away from the coals, and smoldering wood). Check the fire once every 30 minutes to see if an additional log is needed to maintain temperature and create more smoke.

The duck is done approximately 2 1⁄2 to 3 hours or when the skin starts to recede from the top of the leg. The meat will firm up in the first half of the cooking process, and will slowly relax and become tender during the last hour.

Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

2 large English cucumbers

1⁄2 red onion

1 1⁄2 tbsp salt

1 1⁄2 cup Greek yogurt

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions

Slice cucumbers 1⁄4-inch thick, and julienne the red onion 1⁄8 inch thick. Mix in an appropriate-sized mixing bowl and add salt. Put cucumber, red onion, and salt mixture into a colander over a mixing bowl. Cover and place in the refrigerator overnight. This draws the moisture out, and seasons the cucumbers and onion.

The following day, rinse the cucumber and red onion well under running water in the colander. Let drain. Roll out a kitchen towel, and put the cucumber and red onion in the kitchen towel (cheesecloth also works well). Wring out excess moisture in the cucumber and onion and place in a mixing bowl.

In a separate small mixing bowl, whisk together Greek yogurt, coriander, and black pepper until well combined. Mix yogurt mixture into the wrung-out cucumber and onions. Fold together and enjoy.