Title: Szechuan Camphor-Wood And Tea Smoked Duck
Categories: Chinese Poultry Smoke
Yield: 6 Servings
| 4 | sl | Root ginger |
| 1/2 | tb | Peppercorns |
| 4 | | To 5 lb duck |
| 1 | tb | Sea salt |
| 2 | tb | Lard |
| | | SMOKING: |
| 4 | | To 5 tb dried tea |
| 3 | tb | Sugar |
| 1 | | Bundle camphor wood -- OR |
| 4 | | To 5 tb camphor wood |
| | | Sawdust |
| | | Some smoldering charcoal |
| | | Wire rack |
| | | Inverted clean kerosene tin |
| | | Or inverted metal du |
Shred & chop the ginger. Roast the peppercorns in a dry roasting pan for 10
minutes in a moderate oven; crush and pound them lightly in a mortar. Rub
the duck inside and out with half the salt, ginger and pepper. Leave to dry
and season overnight. Mix the remaining seasoning with the lard until
well-blended. Rub the mixture on the duck inside and out. Place the duck on
a wire rack in a preheated moderate oven at about 400 deg (put a drip-pan
underneath) and roast for 1 hour. SMOKING: Light the charcoal fire. When
the charcoal is glowing red, but not blazing, sprinkle half the tea, sugar
and camphor wood (twigs or sawdust) over the fire. Place the duckon a wire
rack and suspend it a couple of inches above the fire. Invert the tin or
bin over the duck and fire and let smoke for 10 minutes. Turn the duck over
for a further 10 minute smoking, sprinkling the rest of the smoking mixture
on the fire and poking and stirring it. By now the duck should be
sufficiently smoked. Brush it with 2 tb sesame oil and put it in a moderate
oven for a further 15 minutes of roasting. Serve by chopping through the
bones into 15-20 large bite-size pieces or carve in the western manner. An
excellent accompaniment to wine at the start or a multi-course dinner party
or banquet. Adapted from a recipe from the Chengtu Dining Rooms, Chengtu.
From Chinese Regional Cooking by Kenneth Lo, Pantheon Books, 1979.