Smoked Duck Breast

This smoked duck breast delivers moist fruity flavors with an apple marinade a beautiful pink color.

There's not much meat on a wild duck and call it a waste if you like but all I was presented with were the breasts of the duck - easy to whip out without going to the trouble of removing the feathers from the complete bird. So here's a recipe for smoked duck breast that will suit both wild duck and any duck breast that you might buy down the supermarket.

The recipe consists first of a brine, then a drying period and finally smoking. The big difference when smoking duck breast as to hot smoking other food is the temperature which is 145°F or 63°C and I find that using the electric element in my homemade smoker perfect for smoking at these "lower" temperatures.

The first step is to brine the breasts amd my favorite is apple juice brine, although I have one extra ingredient in this recipe and that is Salt Petre (sodium nitrite). Just the tip of a teaspoon is required but this has a wonderful effect on the color taking it from a natuarally dark meat to an amazing maroon color.

If you can't get Salt Petre, (it's the active ingredient in gunpowder, therefore a controlled substance) just nip down to your butcher and ask if you buy some curing powder as this will contain Salt Petre in a less concentrated form.

Preparation Time:- 5 mins
Marinade Time:- overnight
Cooking Time:- 2 hours

Total Time:- ½ day

Ingredients:-

• 500ml or 1 pint apple juice
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 bayleaf
• 2 teaspoon dried thyme
• A teaspoon tip of Salt Petre

Method:-

Mix all the ingredients up and ensure that the salts have fully dissolved. Pop your duck breasts in the brine, cover and refrigerate overnight.

On day 2 remove the duck breasts from the brine and hang them to dry - I do this in the food chamber of my smoker with the electric element on its lowest setting. Dry the breasts until the skin no longer feels clammy.

Finally smoke at 145°F or 63°C for a couple of hours until the skin has taken on a deep brown coloration.

I like to use wood chips from a fruit tree, after all there’s always been a connection between duck and fruit whether it be orange, plum, lemon etc.

Alternative Marinades To Try Include:-

Cointreau Marinade

Soy Sauce and Molasses

To serve, slice the duck breast thinly and lay out on a plate. To finish off, consider a fruity sauce:-

Damson Jam Sauce

Related Pages:-

Barbecue Duck Recipes
Homemade Barbecue Sauces
Meat Smokers
Wood Chips
BBQ Marinades and Brines

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