Discussion Forums

Andrew Murray

This recipe can be great for a main course or just some arvo snacking, depends on what you're after.

Ingredients:

Wood Ducks (1 per person or more if you're hungry)
Salt
Water
Sugar (brown if you can get it)
Honey
Mustard
Olive Oil (or other oil of preference)
Other spices as desired.

Equipment:
Smoker ( I use one like this)
Wood Chips (your preference, I used oak, but I would avoid some of the bigger flavours like hickory)
Bucket (big enough to hold your ducks in solution.

Method:

Prep your ducks, de-feather, gut and trim legs and wings, leave the skin on!
Mix up a brining solution. Usually 3/4 cup each of sugar and salt to 5L of water
Place the ducks in the solution for a minimum of 4 hours before smoking (I had them in for approx 36hr due to unforeseen circumstances but they were refrigerated beyond 5hrs when I realised I couldn't cook them straight away). the purpose of brining is for flavour but also to impart moisture into the meat for smoking.

Once brined, pat dry and lift the skin. Mix up a honey mustard rub and place under the skin of the duck while leaving it as intact as possible. You want the skin to act like a blanket during cooking, crisping up on the outside but trapping the moisture in the flesh. At this point you can add extra spices/flavours to the outside of the skin if you like.

You can leave the meat to marinade for a while if you like, I normally let it do so while the smoker is warming.

Heat the smoker to 220F-240F (if you're lucky enough to have Celsius dials then heat to 105C-115C). If you're smoker has a water pan, fill it up when you start heating.

Once at temperature, place the ducks inside and the wood chips you will be using. Use enough wood to have smoke going for at least an hour.

The ducks should be ready in 2-2.5hrs depending on the final temperature you would like. I usually go for a bit longer to ensure a higher final meat temperature. The brining process ensures the meat is ultra tender and juicy.

Enjoy :)