Duck smoked in tea
Votes: 3
Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
Complexity: hard
Servings: 8-10
Complexity: hard
Servings: 8-10
Black tea-smoked duck is a traditional dish from China's Sichuan province, where it's also known as "rancha." Before cooking, the whole duck is soaked overnight in a spicy marinade made with black tea, honey, ginger, green onions, salt, Sichuan peppercorns, and other aromatic spices. Afterward, the duck is hung for several hours to allow the skin to dry completely, and then placed in a smokehouse, where it's typically smoked over camphor wood chips and tea twigs. Properly cooked duck develops a delightful tea aroma, juicy, flavorful meat, and a crispy, fat-free skin. Smoked duck is typically served in slices on Chinese gua bao buns.
The recipes use measuring containers with the following volumes:
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.
Ingredients for the recipe:
Marinade
- 1 whole duck carcass, washed (preferably a Peking duck with a large breast)
- 1 large piece ginger root, crushed
- 1 bunch of green onions
- 1 tbsp. l. ground cloves
- 1 stick (15 cm) cinnamon (cassia)
- 1 tbsp Sichuan red peppercorns
- 0.5 tbsp. malt sugar or honey
- 1/4 cup coarse salt
- 1 cup Chinese black tea (Darjeeling or Ceylon tea will also work)
- 1 tbsp sodium nitrate (optional, but included in the original recipe)
- Enough water to cover the entire duck
- Sesame/vegetable oil to grease the duck
Smoking oven
- 450 g of camphor wood chips (other types of wood, such as almond wood, will also work)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 packet dried tea leaves, optional
We recommend
Recipes with similar ingredients: duck, ginger root, green onions, carnation, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, honey, black tea, sodium nitrate, brown sugar
Cooking the dish according to the recipe:
- Mix all the marinade ingredients except the sesame/vegetable oil and immerse the clean duck in the mixture. Let it sit overnight.
- Hang the duck and let it dry for at least 2 hours. Hang the duck in the smoker, inserting a hook through the neck.
- Place camphor chips, brown sugar, and tea leaves, if using, on the tray at the base of the smoker and preheat to 175°C. Some recipes call for tea leaves, but in a mixture of sugar and camphor wood, they won't impart much tea flavor to the ducks.
- Roast the duck for approximately 40 minutes, depending on its size, oven type, etc. For crispier skin, increase the oven temperature to 200°C (400°F) for the last 5-10 minutes and brush the duck with sesame or vegetable oil again. If you're short on time, you can simply drizzle the duck with hot oil.
- Slice the duck and serve hot, with bread rolls and sauce if desired.
Author of the recipe - Shirley Fong-Torres is a chef and popular travel and food writer.
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