When my neighbour Simon popped round with a couple of ducks under his arm I quickly whipped up this apple juice brine and we agreed on a time for dinner the following day.
Simon had shot both ducks and Canada Geese (but more of that later) so we set about removing the breasts and preparing them for smoking. Especially when smoking wild duck it’s really important to marinade them first because wild duck has little fat on it so the marinade is essential in order to prevent the duck drying out. Compare this with my
grilled duck breast recipe
which really calls for a good fatty breast.
For the marinade you need the following ingredients and don't be afraid to experiment with different herbs depending on what you've got available. Mixed herbs work just a well as the thyme that I've used.
Ingredients:-
500ml or 1 pint apple juice
1 tablespoon salt
1 bayleaf
2 teaspoon dried thyme
Method:-
Simply throw all the ingredients in a flat marinade bowl and stir until the salt dissolves. Normally I try to put a picture up on every page but I hope that you’ll excuse me here, I did take a picture but it didn’t turn out too well and to be honest it looked like a bowl of apple juice with a leaf in it!
The next day I set up the smoker with some apple wood chips, got out the patio furniture, broke open a couple of cans of beer one hour later we had perfect smoked duck breast.