Smoked Wood Duck with Peach Jalapeño Chutney
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Wood ducks are not only admired for their colors and beauty, but they are also one of the best tasting waterfowl. I love eating ducks as much as I love hunting them. My typical go to recipes includes either gumbo or seared blackened duck, but I wanted to add some smoke flavor to these delicious little birds and any fruity/tangy chutney always compliments the flavor of duck.
I placed several wood ducks in a simple brine for two days before smoking them with cherry pellets. The flavor of the Harvesting Nature Waterfowl Rub, along with the smoky flavor, and sweet and slightly spicy chutney was a great combination.
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Smoked Wood Duck with Peach Jalapeño Chutney
Course: Wild Recipes4
servings30
minutes40
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
3-4 wood ducks
Duck Fat
- Brine
1/4 cup Kosher salt
4 cups water
- Chutney
4-5 fresh or canned peaches, peeled and chopped
2-3 jalapeño peppers, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1-2 tablespoon sugar
Salt to taste
Preparation
- Prepare the brine by mixing the Kosher salt with cold water until the salt fully dissolves. Remove the breast meat from the ducks or split the birds in half and be sure to leave the skin on. Submerge the duck in the brine for 1-2 days.
- After brining, remove the ducks, pat them dry and allow the birds to dry for an hour or so, while you start the smoker. A fruit wood like cherry or apple is a good choice. Liberally coat each piece with Fully Flocked dry rub and place them in the smoker set to 225 degrees Fahrenheit.
- To make the chutney, cut the peaches into cubes. You can use fresh peaches, but I chose to use some peaches from our yard we canned awhile back.
- Add a drizzle of cooking oil to a saucepan and add the chopped jalapeño and red onion. Cook for several minutes before adding the chopped peaches, salt, sugar, and vinegar. Continue to cook on low heat until the chutney thickens.
- Smoke the duck until it hits an internal temperature of around 120 degrees Fahrenheit in the breast. Remove the duck from the smoker.
- Give the duck a light spritz with duck fat and place the duck skin side down on a hot sear box or hot cast iron skillet.
- Pull the duck from the sear box when it hits an internal temperature of 135 degrees Fahrenheit and allow it to rest. Spoon the chutney over the duck and serve with wild rice.
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