Double smoked duck breast.

manxman · August 30, 2009, 01:47:05 PM

I have had my BS for 4+ years now and was pretty sure that, having smoked a wide range of items from cheese, butter, salt and eggs and occasional vegetable through to a wide variety of fish, shellfish and meat that it could no longer surprise me.

How wrong I was! ::)

Duck has been on my list of things to do for a while and after doing a bit of research (e.g. past posts here on the forum, Keith Erlandson; Home Smoking and Curing) and getting some advice from a commercial smokehouse that produces lovely smoked duck breast the suggestion was that duck benefits from being first cold smoked then hot smoked.

Method:

Crosshatch the duck breast skin, about half an inch apart, make sure you do not cut into the meat.

Gently prick the meat side a few times with a fork to help the brining process.

Brine the duck breasts in 80% brine for 2 - 3 hours, the bigger the breasts the longer the brine period. (Sugar and spices optional, I didn't use any.)

Take out, rinse well in water then pat dry with paper towel.

Leave overnight on wire rack to dry out, minimum 12 hours. (I put mine in fridge on "warmest" setting.)

Set BS up for cold smoke and place duck breast fillets in smoker:

Cold smoke for 4 hours (+/- depending on taste) using your choice of puck. I used oak.

Take duck out of smoker and set up BS for hot smoking. Cabinet temperature 210F.

Lightly rub bit of sea salt and black pepper on the skin side of the duck breasts. (optional, other spices could be used)

Hot smoke the duck breasts skin side up for 1hr 30 mins (+/- depending on taste) with your choice of pucks. (I used oak)

I cooked to internal temperature 160F although USDA recommend 165F. I was happy to cut it back a bit as I knew the source of my breasts and how they had been handled! ::) ;)

After hot smoking they looked like:

Heat up a metal skillet on the hob to a medium high heat, flash pan fry the duck breasts skin side down for 2 - 3 minutes:

Approx 20 ml fat came off per fillet, discard excess fat between batches:

Use kitchen towel to pat dry the breasts to absorb excess fat, use firm but gentle pressure. When cooled a bit wrap in cling film and put in fridge for 24 hours:

Slice the duck breast into thin slices and vacuum seal:

I didn't know what to expect of this attempt but ...... WOW! It has certainly made my top three list of all time BS favourites. The reason I kept the brine and rub simple is to keep my options open for eating it ....... the best so far is with sweet chilli dip!

I would be interested in some feedback? ::)

edited to add: vent about 90% open the whole time.

FLBentRider · August 30, 2009, 02:10:38 PM

That looks so good, I was tempted for a moment to look up transatlantic airfare or a cruise!

Nice Work ManxMan!

deb415611 · August 30, 2009, 02:28:53 PM

Wow Manxman. Looks great!

Hopefull Romantic · August 30, 2009, 03:14:53 PM

Nice job Manxman,

I was tempted the other day to buy duck from my neighborhood supermarket (first time I noticed they had it) but chickened out at the last minute. Now that I have you having tried it I get more courage. I just have one question; is there a reason to wrap and refrigerate it after all the smoking and cooking is done or was that your personal preference?

HR

Wildcat · August 30, 2009, 03:48:09 PM

Nicely done Manxman! ;) When duck is done properly I love it. Most folks (including myself) are not that great at it. One of my sisters does a wonderful duck on the grill. I know that she slices the skin to allow all the grease to drain out, but that is all she will tell me. Duck can be very greasy if not done properly. I will have to try your method. With luck it will taste even better than my sisters. Can hardly wait to see her face if I am successful. :D Thanks for posting this. I hope that Habs and Olds will get this one added to the receipe site.

manxman · August 30, 2009, 04:04:28 PM

QuoteI just have one question; is there a reason to wrap and refrigerate it after all the smoking and cooking is done or was that your personal preference?

The main reason to wrap and refridgerate for 24 hours is personnal preference as IMHO I think most smoked food benefits from ageing for a while to let the full flavour develop. Wrapping tightly not only helps this but stops everything else n the fridge tasting of smoke. (nought wrong with that I hear you say! :D)

The best example is perhaps cheese which needs up to a week to mature but I think bacon is another good example. In other instances the benefit is minimal but I tend to do it as a matter of habit.

I also noticed in the book I referred to the author suggests not eating any smoked product until it has matured for at least 24 hours.

One thing I forgot to mention, when setting up the smoker to hot smoke make sure the V pan is positioned correctly and place the meat carefully to ensure the significant amount of fat that runs off is channelled correctly into the water bowl.

Duck fat is highly flammable !!! ::)

Caribou · August 30, 2009, 04:25:25 PM

Wow Manxman!
Those look so awesome.
Makes me want to raise some meat ducks next spring!
Carolyn

HawkeyeSmokes · August 30, 2009, 07:04:26 PM

Quote from: Wildcat on August 30, 2009, 03:48:09 PM
Nicely done Manxman! ;) When duck is done properly I love it. Most folks (including myself) are not that great at it. One of my sisters does a wonderful duck on the grill. I know that she slices the skin to allow all the grease to drain out, but that is all she will tell me. Duck can be very greasy if not done properly. I will have to try your method. With luck it will taste even better than my sisters. Can hardly wait to see her face if I am successful. :D Thanks for posting this. I hope that Habs and Olds will get this one added to the receipe site.

Looks great Manxman. Please do like Wildcat said and make sure this gets on the recipe site. Thanks for the post and great pics! ;D

Habanero Smoker · August 31, 2009, 01:23:23 AM

Wow! This looks great. I don't know how I missed this post yesterday.

Wildcat;

You're right this should be on the recipe site.

Manxman;

Would you mind if we post your recipe on the site?

manxman · August 31, 2009, 01:38:37 AM

QuoteWould you mind if we post your recipe on the site?

Of course I wouldn't Habs ...... just let me know if you need any points changing, clarifying or any more info. :)

Habanero Smoker · August 31, 2009, 01:42:04 AM

Thanks.

I'll take a look better look at it this afternoon, and get back to you. I'm sure I can get this finished for the new update that will be posted.

mikecorn.1 · August 31, 2009, 05:29:37 AM

Wow, those look great. Missed the post yesterday. 8)

KyNola · August 31, 2009, 07:22:28 AM

WOW! Those look great and I love properly cooked duck breast. If I can lay my hands on some duck breasts I am so doing those.

Thanks for posting this,
KyNola

manxman · September 01, 2009, 01:27:24 AM

QuoteI'll take a look better look at it this afternoon, and get back to you. I'm sure I can get this finished for the new update that will be posted.

Note I edited the recipe Habs to add a comment re vent position which I had forgotten to include originally:

Quoteedited to add: vent about 90% open the whole time.

Habanero Smoker · September 01, 2009, 01:32:11 AM

Thanks! I'll add that in. I'm pretty busy until after the weekend, but I should have a draft by Monday.