I didn't get a lot of pictures, because I was originally smoking a store bought duck for Christmas eve, see it is traditional to have gumbo on Christmas eve before the bonfires on the levee. I thought it would be nice to have a smoked duck & andouille gumbo this year. But in the process of cleaning and processing the duck to smoke, I had so much to put in the stock pot and its smelled so rich (a huge difference from chicken), I decided to give my old Hunter's wild rice recipe a try. It has been years since I did one (early '80's), and it was with woodies then not a store bought duck, but I had to try it. A friend had sent me some real "wild rice" from Minnesota which caused the adventure into a hunters wild rice. We used to laugh at folks who ate old store bought ducks and didn't kill their own. LOL and the worm turns.
Like I said store bought duck, sat under the fan after cleaning. Skin dried fast I assume because of all that duck fat, Dusted the cavity with sage, thyme, rosemary and parsley, then added bay leaves oranges and apples and closed her up. Preheated the smoker to 275 reduced to 210 and put the duck in the chamber. I nearly always do pecan, but its poultry and I know what apple & corn cob smoke looks like so.......... I don't know why I think Duck is such a special meal, its cheaper than hamburger meat!
Since I was at a chamber temperature of 210, I wasn't too afraid of over cooking and with all that duck fat, dryness should not be a problem either. So I regulated the chamber temperature to get the smoke I wanted with no probe. After a couple of hours I decided that an apricot glaze would bring the rice and duck together. Someone had finished the bag of dried apricots so I glazed it with a peach glaze. Thats rum, butter, brown sugar and homemade peach jelly.
Into the stock pot the tail (which is meaty on a duck) the neck, the wings cut off at the crotch of the wing, liver, and some extra skin from the neck/breast area. I had picked up all the scraps when processing the duck and threw them in a pan wondering what kind of broth it would make, OMG!! It even smelled richer and more decadent. That is when the plan came to me. I checked the pantry to see what was available, and started prepping to make the hunter's wild rice. OK, I will drop the recipe below, if you are using fake wild rice (browned spaghetti pieces) realize cooking time will be largely different.
Duck in the smoker in that beautiful amber colored smoke.
I finally, after a few hours decided to take its temperature (The color was what I was looking for and the subcutaneous fat was a rendering with a slow drip, the meat was slightly firm), and believe it or not, I was only 1 degree of what I was looking for. I forgot how much I liked smoking without a remote thermometer.
Here it is on the counter right after the probe was inserted and I pulled it. Damn shame I punctured that pretty bird.
Here it is in a pretty platter on top of the Hunters wild rice which was unbelievable by itself..
The hunters rice is fruits, nuts and berries which blend so well with that very satisfying slight crunch as the rice explodes as you chew releasing its nutty flavor. Takes 4 or 5 times longer to cook but well worth the wait.
Hunter's Wild Rice
Ingredients:
Directions:
Add grease to large pan with lid and set on medium fire. Add onions and celery and stir till translucent (4 or 5 mins.), add apricots, pecans, cranberries and spices. Now its the rice and water, salt and pepper. bring to a boil, reduce heat to a slow gentle boil and cover, allow to cook slowly, no need to stir. Your pot should be steaming a little. Check after a couple of hours. Do not stir the pot until it is done. Stirring ends the steam paths established by the rice for cooking/
You can use whatever nuts, fruits and berries you have available But mine was just really perfect.
BTW all the measurements are approximated except the 4 to 1 water to rice. And don't expect the rice to be all fluffy, it ain't that way with wild rice !
Hope you enjoyed, remember ducks are not as cheap as turkeys right now, but under three dollars a pound I can afford a couple in the freezer and still have plenty of beer money.
BTW those are Louisiana satsumas as a garnish.
Like I said store bought duck, sat under the fan after cleaning. Skin dried fast I assume because of all that duck fat, Dusted the cavity with sage, thyme, rosemary and parsley, then added bay leaves oranges and apples and closed her up. Preheated the smoker to 275 reduced to 210 and put the duck in the chamber. I nearly always do pecan, but its poultry and I know what apple & corn cob smoke looks like so.......... I don't know why I think Duck is such a special meal, its cheaper than hamburger meat!
Since I was at a chamber temperature of 210, I wasn't too afraid of over cooking and with all that duck fat, dryness should not be a problem either. So I regulated the chamber temperature to get the smoke I wanted with no probe. After a couple of hours I decided that an apricot glaze would bring the rice and duck together. Someone had finished the bag of dried apricots so I glazed it with a peach glaze. Thats rum, butter, brown sugar and homemade peach jelly.
Into the stock pot the tail (which is meaty on a duck) the neck, the wings cut off at the crotch of the wing, liver, and some extra skin from the neck/breast area. I had picked up all the scraps when processing the duck and threw them in a pan wondering what kind of broth it would make, OMG!! It even smelled richer and more decadent. That is when the plan came to me. I checked the pantry to see what was available, and started prepping to make the hunter's wild rice. OK, I will drop the recipe below, if you are using fake wild rice (browned spaghetti pieces) realize cooking time will be largely different.
Duck in the smoker in that beautiful amber colored smoke.
I finally, after a few hours decided to take its temperature (The color was what I was looking for and the subcutaneous fat was a rendering with a slow drip, the meat was slightly firm), and believe it or not, I was only 1 degree of what I was looking for. I forgot how much I liked smoking without a remote thermometer.
Here it is on the counter right after the probe was inserted and I pulled it. Damn shame I punctured that pretty bird.
Here it is in a pretty platter on top of the Hunters wild rice which was unbelievable by itself..
The hunters rice is fruits, nuts and berries which blend so well with that very satisfying slight crunch as the rice explodes as you chew releasing its nutty flavor. Takes 4 or 5 times longer to cook but well worth the wait.
Hunter's Wild Rice
Ingredients:
| 1/4 cup | Dried apricot chopped |
| 1/4 cup | pecans chopped |
| 1/4 cup | Dried whole cranberries |
| 1/2 cup | white onions chopped |
| 1/4 cup | celery chopped |
| 1/4 teaspoon | sage rubbed |
| 1/4 teaspoon | rosemary ground |
| 1/4 teaspoon | Fresh thyme |
| 1/4 teaspoon | fresh Parsley |
| 1 cup | wild rice |
| 4 cups | spring water |
| 1 tablespoon | bacon grease |
| Salt & Pepper to taste |
Add grease to large pan with lid and set on medium fire. Add onions and celery and stir till translucent (4 or 5 mins.), add apricots, pecans, cranberries and spices. Now its the rice and water, salt and pepper. bring to a boil, reduce heat to a slow gentle boil and cover, allow to cook slowly, no need to stir. Your pot should be steaming a little. Check after a couple of hours. Do not stir the pot until it is done. Stirring ends the steam paths established by the rice for cooking/
You can use whatever nuts, fruits and berries you have available But mine was just really perfect.
BTW all the measurements are approximated except the 4 to 1 water to rice. And don't expect the rice to be all fluffy, it ain't that way with wild rice !
Hope you enjoyed, remember ducks are not as cheap as turkeys right now, but under three dollars a pound I can afford a couple in the freezer and still have plenty of beer money.
BTW those are Louisiana satsumas as a garnish.
