Tea Smoked Grilled Duck Recipes

Steps:

• Combine all the ingredients, except sesame/vegetable oil, for the marinade in a bath solution and place cleaned duck in it overnight.
• Hang dry and rest for at least 2 hours. Hang duck in smoking oven with hook on the upper neck.
• Place the camphor wood, brown sugar, tea twigs, if available, on a pan at the base of the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Some recipes call for tea leaves but tea leaves in the sugar/camphor mixture does not add that much tea flavor to the ducks. Roast the duck for approximately 40 minutes, but depends on size of duck, type of oven, etc. For best results for a crispy skin, the last 5 to 10 minutes should be at 400 degrees F, with a final basting of sesame/vegetable oil on the skin of the duck. Duck can be flashed in hot oil to finish, if timing for service is critical.
• Cut and serve hot, with buns and sauce, optional.

Steps:

• Prick the duck skin all over with a sharp fork, skewer, or thin-bladed knife; try not to hit the meat (the fat layer is usually about 1/4 inch thick). Rub the duck all over with all but 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce, then the five-spice powder. Place the duck on a steaming rack over (not in) abundant boiling water, cover the pot, and turn the heat to high. Steam for about 45 minutes, adding more (boiling) water if necessary. Remove the duck. (At this point you can cool and wrap it well, then refrigerate for a day or two before proceeding.)
• Line a heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid with 2 layers of heavy aluminum foil (a wok is okay, but it won't have a lid). Mix the rice, tea, sugar, orange peel, and cinnamon in the bottom. Use a rack of some kind to create a platform for the duck, at least an inch over the smoking mixture (but remember that the duck must not protrude over the top of the pan). Place the duck, breast side up, on the platform, then cover the pot very tightly with a double thickness of heavy aluminum foil or its cover or, preferably, both. The seal should be as tight as you can make it (without resorting to epoxy; duct tape isn't bad, though).
• Turn the heat to high and, after 10 minutes (or when smoke appears; despite your best efforts, there will probably be at least a small leak), turn the heat to medium. Smoke for another 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, but do not remove the cover for another 15 minutes (as soon as you do, remove and discard the smoking mixture).
• Serve the duck hot or at room temperature; do not refrigerate at this point unless you're going to add it to a stir-fry (in which case wrap it well and refrigerate for up to 2 days). If you're serving the duck solo, cut it into small pieces and drizzle with the remaining soy sauce and the sesame oil.

Steps:

• Cut the duck breasts in half, lengthwise. Trim away any cartilage or membrane, and remove the fillet (a small strip of meat and tendon on the meat-side of the breast that comes off easily; some butchers may have already removed this when boning the duck). Sprinkle equal amounts of the Sichuan pepper-salt on all sides of the duck breasts, then rub with equal amounts of the orange zest. Pat equal amounts of the scallions and the ginger onto the duck breasts, then lay them in a nonaluminum dish, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature before proceeding.
• Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until nearly smoking. Sear the duck breasts on the skin side only until dark golden brown. Remove from the heat and reserve.
• Mix all of the smoking ingredients in a small bowl.
• To smoke the duck breasts, prepare a wok (or Dutch oven) by lining it and the lid with two layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil, leaving an overhang of about five inches. Spread the smoking ingredients in the bottom of the wok and place a round cooling or steaming rack about one inch above the smoking mixture, propping it up if necessary with balls of aluminum foil set under the four corners of the rack.
• Set the uncovered wok over high heat and cook until wisps of smoke come from the smoking mixture. Place the duck breasts, skin side down, on the rack. Cover the wok, and crimp the foil edges together, leaving a small escape valve for the smoke. Smoke the duck breasts for four minutes, turn off the heat and let them sit for an additional three minutes before removing the lid. If the duck is too rare for your taste, add a tablespoon of dry rice to the smoking mixture, return the breasts to the rack and smoke for an additional two or three minutes. Let the duck breasts cool, then slice them in thin diagonal slices and serve.

Steps:

• Prepare the marinade ahead of time (make it the day ahead).
• Soak duck quarters in cooled infused tea for 2 hours.
• Drain and add the marinade to cover the duck (use a zip lock bag for easy turning).
• Refrigerate for 3 hours.
• Bring duck to room temp uncovered.
• Heat BBQ to medium hot, oil the grill.
• Scatter dry tea leaves directly over the coals.
• Grill the duck fat side down sear the quarters turn every 5 minutes and baste with the marinade.
• Close grill lid and let the duck smoke in the tea smoke.
• Keep turning the duck.
• Continue grill until it is cooked the way you like it.
• It will be charred on the outside.
• Garnish with cumquats or tangerines.