Duck Smoked With Tea Leaves

Originally posted by Julian Wu in the Beginner's Forum on 10/4/03

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There is a traditional chinese dish where you smoke duck with mixture of tea leaves, rice and brown sugar.

I've tried doing a version on my weber with reasonably successful results.

Traditionally the duck is steamed first, then smoked in a wok, then deep fried to crisp the skin, but in my version I have taken a few liberties, and give it about 1 hour on the weber, then finish it off over a grill.

Using a pair of poultry shears, butterfly the duck as you would for a chicken.

You get a duck and give a wash, them dry it inside and out with a paper towel. You coat it with a rub made out of 1 tablespoon of chinese five spice powder or ground szechwan peppercorns and 2 tablespoons of salt and let it sit in your refrigerator overnight.

Prepare a smoking mixture of 1/2 cup each of black tea, brown sugar and white rice. Normally this would be done in a foil lined wok, but for a barbecue I place the smoking mixture on two layers of aluminium foil and fold it into a parcel to avoid the brown sugar making a mess in my barbecue. I prick the top of the foil parcel and smoke the duck in the weber for 45-60 minutes, then finish the duck on a charcoal grill to crisp the skin and finish it off.

In China this would be served with peppercorn salt,which is equal quantities of black pepper and salt toasted in a wok or fry pan then ground to a powder with a mortar and pestle.

Chris, a newbie question but, in a water smoker, do you put the packet of tea etc in the water pan with no water in it, or do you put it on one of the grills next to the duck?

Where the tea goes seems to be the missing instruction from everywhere I have looked.
Thanks
Jay

Jay, I'd put the foil packet directly on the coals so it will produce the smoke for the duck and immediately put the duck on the grate. Or get the duck situated on the grate and then put the foil packet on the coals. The smoke will begin fairly quickly. It's been some time, but I did do this successfully with chicken too, on my gasser several years ago -- it's time I did it again, in my WSM.

You can keep it simple, or I like to add a few additonal spices to the tea-sugar-rice mixture, such as:

6 finger-sized strips, orange part only, of fresh orange or tangerine peel, cut in small pieces (use a vegetable peeler to remove the peel)
3 tablespoons Szechuan brown peppercorns (I love their flavor and keep some in a pepper grinder for a quick addition to a stir-fry!)
5 whole star anise, equal to 24 points
1/8 to 1/4 cup cassia bark, OR three 2-inch cinnamon sticks, both broken into small bits

The peppercorn salt that Julian refers to is probably Roasted Szechuan peppercorn salt, which is used as a dip.

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FYI, here's my rendition of Szechuan Peppercorn Salt. I use it as a dip and also lightly season the duck or chicken with the mixture before cooking it.

1. In a heavy cast-iron skillet (not stainless), over medium heat, stir 9 tablespoons Diamond Kosher salt and 8 tablespoons Szechuan brown peppercorns constantly until the salt turns off-white, about 4 minutes.

2. Remove from the skillet. Add 1 tablespoon dried orange peel powder and grind the mixture to a coarse powder in a spice mill, mortar and pestle, processor, or blender.

3. Sift through a fine-meshed strainer to remove the husks.
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Let us know how your duck turned out.

Rita

Hey Rita,
thanks for the reply.
Unfortunately, I felt it was a bit of a mess.
Only my 5th smoke and I guess I was suffering
from early success.
I was using the recipe from "Smoke and Spice"
but a few of the steps didn't seem to really
work for me.
The paste I made didn't really seem wet enough
for a paste but I just presumed it was my newbie
preconceptions and smeared this grainy stuff as best I could under the skin and on the bird.
Then there was the "where do I put the leaves
concoction" that you kindly answered, though it
was too late for my smoke.
I also had a problem with not being able to
keep the temperature down so all in all, it
wasn't the success I had hoped for.
Still, looking at your suggestions and Chris'
other smoked duck recipe, I think I might give
it one more try.
Thanks for your reply.
Thanks to Chris and all you folks on the site,
I felt supported enough to start on this wsm
road to obsession.

Jay, you have a good attitude. There isn't one of us who hasn't goofed at one time or another, and we've learned from the experience. New folks to smoking seem to have a lot to remember at first, but it does become second nature after a while.

Ask questions. You won't be able to find finer advice anywhere than you can here. The questions help other beginners and reinforce the knowledge of those who have been at it for a while.

Above all, have fun with your new obsession,
Rita