Peppercorn Duck Club Recipe

Seems everyone looks for something "different" to serve for the holidays. Here is a great recipe that will break you out of the culinary rut we find ourselves in every Christmas.
I used to prepare this dish for Thanksgiving every year and it never failed to be a real treat; it was always the first of the meats to literally vanish after the first helping.
This is, as far as I know, the recipe still in use today at the Peppercorn Duck Club at the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City.
First, start with one 4 to 4 and-a-half pound duck (domestic only) and rise it well, pat dry and set aside.

In a bowl combine the following ingredients mixing together. 1 teaspoon of each: dried rosemary, whole fennel seed, anise, granulated garlic, white pepper and paprika. Add 1/2 cup of non-iodized salt.
Season duck with the rub you've made and make sure it is rubbed all over; then add 1 tablespoon into the cavity of the duck.
Smoke the duck at 225 degrees, with hickory chips. You want to end up with an internal temp of 160 to 165.
At this point, the duck still contains a lot of grease. So preheat your oven to 350-375. Then, using a deep roasting pan place a poultry stand in the middle with the duck placed on the stand. Cook the duck, with the oven light on, monitoring the grease loss and the bird.
I had to play with this a few times, but what you are looking for is the meat, once pulled, to have the same characteristics of the dark meat on a turkey.
If you find this to be a keeper, just keep in mind, two ducks means doubling the rub or tripling and so on.