Recipe - Tea Smoked Duck Or Cornish Hens

Stephen Ceideburg
4 One half pound Duck *
3 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns
3 tablespoon Coarse salt
1 One half tablespoon Sugar
4 Quartersized slices fresh
ginger, shredded
3 Green onions, cut into
2inch pieces, crushed
One fourth cup Chinese rice wine or dry
sherry
Asian sesame oil
ACCOMPANIMENTS:
Chinese Steamed Lotus Buns
Slivered green onions
Hoisin sauce (One half teaspoon
per serving)
SMOKING MATERIALS:
One half cup Sichuan peppercorns
One half cup Raw longgrain rice
One half cup Black tea leaves
One half cup Dark brown sugar
2 Cinnamon sticks, broken into
small pieces
4 Whole star anise or the
equivalent in pieces

* or 2 Cornish game hens, about 1 One half pounds each (see note)

Remove fat from duck or hens and discard. Rinse thoroughly with cold water.
With the palm of your hands press down on the breastbone to snap the bone
and flatten the bird. Pat dry.

Marinating: In an ungreased skillet or wok over medium heat, toast the
peppercorns and salt until the salt turns a tan color and the peppercorns
are aromatic, about 5 minutes. Finely grind in a food processor or spice
mill and combine with sugar, ginger, onions and wine. Rub mixture
throughout the duck or hens inside and out and place in a shallow
heatproof bowl (select one that will fit comfortably into the wok or pot
that you will steam in). Cover and marinate overnight or up to 3 days,
refrigerated. Turn every few hours, Remove from the refrigerator. Let the
duck or hens come to room temperature.

Steaming: Fill the bottom of wok or steaming pot with boiling water. Place
bowl with the duck or hens and marinade on a rack over the water. Cover and
steam 1 One half hours for duck, 45 minutes for hens.

At 15minute intervals, check water level and replenish with more water if
needed. Remove hens with their bowl. Cool. Transfer duck or hens to a
cooling rack; scrape off marinade. (Save duck stock. It makes a delicious
cooking stock for vegetables.) Set hens in a cool, airy spot to dry for at
least 4 hours, or refrigerate, overnight, uncovered,

Smoking: Line bottom of a wok with heavyduty aluminum foil. Mix together
and distribute smoking materials on the bottom. Set a 9 or 10inch round
cake rack into the wok or devise a rack by crisscrossing 6 wooden
chopsticks in the middle of the wok. Place duck or hens directly on rack.
Turn heat to mediumhigh. When the smoke begins, cover the wok and smoke
for 10 to 20 minutes, or until duck or hens turn golden brown. Remove from
rack and brush lightly with sesame oil. The hens may be served at this
point or browned.

Browning: Place hens breast side up on a roasting rack in a 425 degree F.
oven for 5 to 10 minutes to crisp the skin.

Serving: Chop duck or hens into bitesize pieces, or remove bones and cut
meat into thin slices. Serve with Lotus buns and accompaniments.

Note: If you are preparing more than 2 hens, you will need to steam and
smoke them in 2 batches.

PER SERVING (duck, not counting lotus buns): 700 calories, 38 g protein, 1
g carbohydrate, 58 g fat (20 g saturated), 168 mg cholesterol,
approximately 1,270 mg sodium, 0 g fiber.

Joyce Jue writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, 11/25/91.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini