Published: 15-May-2012 (16:48); Viewed: 3568; Difficulty: 8 out of 10
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Mallard or wild duck is a very rich in taste and flavours small bird. Mallards can be farmed or hunted down, so, during preparation, pay some attention to find bullets inside the body, if any. Ideally this bird should be very slowly smoked for many hours, but this is not very convenient at home. This recipe will do suitable for home cooking compromise between smoking and convenience. This recipe will combine two different cooking techniques, fast smoking and then oven-baking with vegetables. This recipe was originated somewhere in Korea or China. These principles of home smoking can be applies for any types of whole meat.
step-by-step instructions
Ingredients for cooking. Main component is a mallard, and all other ingredients will be used only for improving taste and aroma of the final dish.
Mallard. Size is not important. Cooking time will be approximately the same for half kilo and for one and half kilo ducks.
Onion – approximately the same weight as a mallard.
Carrot – slightly less that onion. Approximately 75% in weight.
Soy sauce and Teriyaki sauce
White sugar
Garlic
Ginger
Salt and black pepper, freshly grounded.
Cooking oil, few tbsp for roasting
Cypress (or Thuja) – few small branches.
Spices
Cinnamon – one small stick
Star anise – one star
Cloves – few buds
Prepare spices. Coarsely grind, mill, ground, or chop with knife cinnamon, star anise and cloves. It is very important to use freshly prepares spices, otherwise you will loose all the beauty of this dish.
Prepare mallard for cooking. Clean it, remove all feathers if any. Cover with spices and tie legs and wings with rope. Also leave some rope for hanging. If you have professional hooks for meat – this will be much easier for you.
Prepare small foil trays, one with few tbsp of sugar, and another with green bits of cypress. Prepare one empty tray to collect melted mallard fat.
Hang duck to the top of the oven, and put trays with sugar and green bits on the bottom of an oven. Put an empty tray exactly under the bird.
Fire oven and keep it about 200 degrees inside. Sugar will produce white smoke and give nice brown colour to the mallard skin. Green plants will produce blue smoke and give very nice aroma to the duck meat. Keep it until the duck fat start dripping very fast, usually it will take 10-15 min. Remove trays with melted sugar and burned green bits and put them into a water. Remove duck from the oven, take ropes of and leave for the future cooking.
Prepare sauce for next step. Slice carrot, slice onion, mince garlic and ginger.
Slightly roast onion in a wok or deep pan. After the onion turn soft, add garlic and ginger.
Add 3 tbsp of say sauce and 3 tbsp of Teriyaki sauce into wok. Add some salt and pepper. Stir permanently.
Add sliced carrot and and about half litre of boiling water. Boil for 10 min, until carrot turn soft.
Place mallard breast-down into a baking tray.
Cover with prepared sauce, and cover everything with foil. Place the tray into the oven, pre-heated to 170-180 degrees and let it bake for 2-3 hours. After first hour turn the duck breast-up and check that foil cover everything.
Everything is ready!!! Don't worry about black, burning-looks part – usually this is over-caramelized onion. Remove all vegetables from the duck and serve it.
Mallard meat should be very tasty and juicy, with very distinctive smoked aroma.
tips and tricks
Prepare to have some smoke, and be ready to ventilate your kitchen.
Be very careful, when handle trays with melted sugar.
Home smoking is a very difficult process. Plenty of smoke will make the complete smoking almost impossible, therefore in this recipe we only will do ...