Tea-Smoked Duck Recipe

Tea-Smoked Duck Recipe

  • ¼ cup cracked Sichuan peppercorns
  • ¼ cup peeled and minced fresh ginger
  • Minced dried zest of 2 oranges or tangerines
  • 1½ tablespoons coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
  • Two 4-pound to 4½-pound ducks
  • 5 tablespoons black or oolong tea leaves
  • 3 whole cinnamon sticks
  • Peel of 1 orange or tangerine in large sections
  • 1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns
  • 1 to 2 star anise (optional)
  1. At least 10 hours, and up to 24 hours, before you plan to barbecue, combine the paste ingredients with a food processor or mortar and pestle. Rub the ducks with the paste thoroughly inside and out, and over and under the skin, being careful to avoid tearing the skin. Reserve 1 or 2 tablespoons of the paste if you plan to mop the ducks, and refrigerate it. Wrap the ducks in plastic and refrigerate them.
  2. About 2 hours before you begin to barbecue, take the ducks from the refrigerator and let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Prepare the tea for steaming the ducks. Place the tea leaves in a large heatproof bowl. Bring 12 cups of water just to a boil, and pour it over the tea leaves. Let the mixture steep for 10 minutes. Pour the tea through a strainer into a large saucepan, reserving about 3 cups of the tea if you plan to mop the ducks. Place the leftover tea leaves in a disposable pie pan or other smoke proof dish and add the cinnamon, orange peel, peppercorns, and optional star anise. Reserve the tea leaf mixture.
  3. Arrange a bamboo steamer over the saucepan of tea and place the ducks in the steamer. (If one steamer isn’t large enough for the two ducks, make a double batch of tea and use two saucepans and steamers.) Steam the ducks over medium-high heat 1½ hours. Discard the greasy steaming liquid.
  4. If you plan to baste the ducks (see Notes, “To Mop or Not”, combine the remaining paste and tea in a small saucepan and warm the mixture over low heat.
  5. Prepare your smoker for barbecuing, bringing the temperature to 200°F to 220°F.
  6. Place the pan of tea leaves and spices on your smoker’s lower grate or shelf. Place the ducks on the upper grate or shelf directly over the pan of spices. (If your smoker has a single grate, arrange the pan and the ducks alongside each other, with the pan closer to the heat source.) Cook 4½ to 5 hours, mopping with the tea at 1-hour intervals in a wood-burning pit, or as appropriate for your style of smoker. The ducks will darken to a deep mahogany and their leg joints will move easily when done. Variation:
  7. Variation:
  8. Tea-Smoked Duck with Long-Life Chinese Noodles
  9. Reserve a cup or so of the duck from the first meal for this second dish. Reheat the duck and slice it (with skin) into matchsticks. Make a sauce by sautéing 2 garlic cloves in a tablespoon of vegetable oil, then add ½ cup chicken stock, 2 tablespoons dry sherry, and 1 tablespoon each soy sauce, Chinese oyster sauce, and Asian sesame oil. Toss 12 ounces of cooked thin egg noodles with the sauce and the duck. (Leave those noodles long for a long and prosperous life!) Add a few bright bits of vegetables, such as slivers of red bell pepper, snow peas, and scallions, and serve.
Recipe of the Day|