Content
- 1 Benefits and calories
- 2 Principles and methods of smoking duck
- 3 How to cook duck for smoking
- 4 How to smoke duck correctly
- 5 Advice from professionals
- 6 Storage rules
- 7 Conclusion
Hot smoked duck is suitable for festive and home dinners, picnics. You can smoke meat in a special smokehouse, in a frying pan, on an open fire, or using a smoke generator. The dish will be tasty if you follow all the cooking rules during cooking.
Benefits and calories
Smoked duck is considered a gourmet and budget dish. There are cold and hot smoking of poultry meat. The differences between the two methods are in the temperature and cooking time. Smoked duck contains a large amount of protein, which helps fight physical and nervous fatigue in the body. For this reason, neurologists recommend consuming poultry during times of stress.
Smoked meat contains some substances:
- vitamins of group B, A, C, E;
- macroelements;
- microelements.
The fat is considered the most useful part of poultry. It cleanses the body of carcinogens and improves digestion. Fat also regulates metabolism.
Vitamin A improves skin and vision, and substances from group B support the functioning of the nervous system.
100 g of hot smoked duck contains 240 kcal. Most of all, meat contains proteins (19 g) and fats (18 g).
Principles and methods of smoking duck
For long-term storage of meat, it is smoked using cold and hot methods. During hot smoking, the product is exposed to temperature, and during cold smoking, it is preserved by warm smoke.
Rainy and windy weather is not suitable for smoking meat. It is recommended to start the process on a clear day in the morning. During smoking, do not open the lid of the pan with duck.
When cold or hot smoking poultry, it is necessary to adhere to the temperature regime.
How to cook duck for smoking
Smoking the carcass begins with the preparatory stage. To do this, you need to wash and pluck the meat. Next, remove all the insides from the bird and cut it up. There is a distinction between cutting meat into halves and into layers. Large individuals are cut using the first method: the carcass is placed on its back and the knife is positioned so that it rests on the middle part of the duck. Then you need to chop it with a kitchen hammer and clean the carcass from small bones.
In small specimens, only the chest part is cut, placing it on the layer. Afterwards, all the entrails are removed and the carcass is washed in cold water.
Before smoking, the poultry carcass is salted and marinated; the method of wet salting of meat is most often used.
Pickling
Its shelf life depends on the quality of salting of meat. There are 4 ways to salt a product:
- Dry salting.
- Wet pickling.
- Mixed.
- Salting with added brine.
The first three methods are most often used. For dry salting, use homemade table salt. It is not recommended to add salt with impurities. Such a product may affect the shelf life of smoked meats.
Large wooden barrels and stainless steel pans are suitable for salting. It is necessary that the dishes remain airtight and durable during salting.
The room should be dry and the temperature should be about 8 degrees. Before placing meat in a salting container, it must first be cleaned, rinsed in hot and then cold water and dried thoroughly.
After salting the meat, the product is placed in a large container and a heavy load is placed on top: a stone, a pan of water, weights. The duck should be left in this position for 2 days.
For wet salting, brine is used. It may include the following products:
- salt;
- sugar;
- ascorbic acid;
- spices.
The most important ingredient for brine is water. Only clean liquid can be used.
To prepare poultry for wet salting, the carcass is divided into pieces and placed in a large container. Next, you need to add brine, the temperature of which is 4 degrees. A weight is placed on top of the container and the meat is left for 2-5 weeks.
Pickling
After salting, the meat is marinated. The liquid gives the dish an exquisite taste and juiciness. Unlike salting, the product must be marinated for no more than 5 hours.
Several products can be added to the marinade:
- salt or sugar;
- vinegar;
- wine;
- garlic;
- mustard;
- lemon juice;
- tomato sauce;
- honey;
- seasonings
To obtain a high-quality marinade, it is recommended to maintain the proportions of the ingredients and mix them well.
Spraying the duck before smoking
You can marinate duck meat not only in the traditional way. Injection allows you to saturate the deep layers of the carcass. For this, brine is also prepared, and then large and small particles are removed through a sieve. Next, using a slotted spoon, place the finished marinade into the syringe. For 1 kg of meat there is about 100 ml of brine.
The meat should be injected across the fibers, otherwise the marinade will leak out.
How to smoke duck correctly
Smoking duck is based on treating the product with hot or cold smoke. This dish can be prepared at home.
There are several smoking methods:
- in the smokehouse;
- using liquid smoke;
- on an open fire;
- using a smoke generator;
- on the stove.
The quality of smoked meat does not depend on the cooking method.
How to smoke hot smoked duck in a smokehouse
It will take 1 day to cook hot smoked duck. For 6 servings you will need the following ingredients:
- 1.5 kg of meat;
- 2 liters of water;
- 4 tbsp. l. salt;
- Bay leaf;
- allspice.
You should start smoking poultry by preparing the carcass. To do this, you need to wash and dry the duck, salt it and add spices. The cleaned carcass is boiled for 40 minutes and cooled.
Next, prepare the smokehouse: add apple or alder chips.
To drain the fat, you need to place foil on the bottom of the pan.
Afterwards, the duck is placed on the grill of the device and water is poured into the water seal. Now all that remains is to take the pipe with the smoke outside and close the lid. The dish is cooked for 30-40 minutes depending on the size of the carcass.
Cold smoking duck in a smokehouse
A smokehouse is also used for cold smoking of meat.It is hung on the rods using hooks in the device, and the wood chips are placed in the smoke generator. The dish will be infused for 1 to 3 days at a temperature of 30 degrees.
You can smoke duck by simmering the meat at low temperature in a dry room. To do this, hang it in a room without direct sunlight. The prepared meat has a delicate aroma and taste.
Smoking duck with liquid smoke
Liquid smoke is used to smoke poultry and animal meat. It is added to the marinade. The advantage of this method is that the dish can be cooked in the oven. For this you will need a baking sleeve.
Place marinated duck pieces wrapped in a baking sleeve in an oven preheated to 200 degrees. Cook the dish for an hour.
Cooked smoked duck at home
In order to smoke juicy duck meat, it is first boiled. The salted and pickled carcass is placed in a saucepan for 12 hours in a dark room. After this, the duck needs to be boiled for 30 minutes. Next, the dish should cool.
Pre-boiled duck does not burn or turn black in the smokehouse. You can cook it no more than 10 minutes after boiling.
How and how much to cook duck for smoking
Before smoking, poultry meat is often boiled to tenderize it. After salting and marinating the carcass, it is left in the refrigerator for 10-12 hours.
The infused carcass is poured with water and boiled with the addition of seasonings, bay leaves, and herbs. The meat is brought to a boil. Then it needs to be cooled.
How to smoke
You need to place pieces of the carcass on the smokehouse grate and fill the tray with apple or cherry chips to add flavor. The parts should be located at some distance from each other, skin side down. The dish is cooked for 1 hour with the appliance lid closed.
Smoking duck at home on the stove
You can smoke a duck not only in a smokehouse, but also at home in a frying pan. For such purposes, it is better to choose a stainless steel container. The carcass meat must first be salted and marinated.
Sawdust from fruit trees is placed at the bottom of the pan. Then a tray is placed on top, on which the grate is placed. Place pieces of meat evenly on a heated frying pan and cover. It is necessary to monitor the lid: it should not allow smoke to pass through. The duck is cooked on the stove for an hour.
Recipe for hot smoking duck over an open fire
Smokehouses are used to smoke meat over an open fire. You can buy them in a store or build them yourself. The design of the device includes a chimney, a grate, a lid, and a metal rectangular body.
The fire in the smokehouse is maintained by shavings and branches in a 4 cm layer. The wood chips are set on fire and periodically sprinkled with water. A carcass tray is placed over the shavings.
Smoking duck with a smoke generator
Cold smoked duck is prepared using a smoke generator. Parts of meat are salted in advance and infused in brine, which consists of the following ingredients:
- 1 tbsp. l. salt;
- 1 word l. lemon juice;
- Bay leaf;
- 1 tsp. red pepper.
After salting, the meat is placed in a wide pan, with pressure placed on top. The parts should sit for 2 days. It is recommended to use oak and cherry raw materials as wood chips.
Advice from professionals
The temperature in the smokehouse during hot smoking can reach up to 150 degrees.The cooking time of the meat depends on it. The smokehouse should have a temperature of about 50 degrees and smoke.
For smoking, it is better to choose fresh meat rather than frozen. After defrosting, it loses its taste, beneficial properties, and releases a lot of moisture.
Choosing wood chips
Wood chips add extra flavor and aroma to the dish. The best wood for birds is from fruit trees: alder, apple, cherry.
The wood chips should be medium in size and moist. Small wood burns quickly and affects the taste of the dish. Dry wood chips impart bitterness to the meat.
It is better to choose high-quality wood for smoking that does not contain bark, rot or mold.
How long does it take to smoke a duck?
The cooking time for smoked duck meat depends on the smoking method. When using the hot method, the dish is prepared in 1 hour, but it has a shorter shelf life than when using the cold method.
Cold smoking lasts from 12 hours to 3 days. Sometimes it is necessary to pre-boil the meat with the addition of spices. This may take about 20 minutes.
Storage rules
You can store smoked duck meat in the refrigerator, freezer, cellar, or cloth. The main condition for storing the product is compliance with the temperature regime.
There are several temperature modes of the refrigerator for storing smoked meats:
- Meat can be stored at temperatures up to 8 degrees for 12 hours;
- 1 day at temperatures up to 5 degrees;
- 2 days at temperatures up to 0 degrees.
Smoked meats are stored in the freezer for a longer time. Throughout the year, you can keep meat at a temperature of 25 to 18 degrees.
Smoked meats are also stored in well-ventilated attics, hanging them in fabric bags.
Conclusion
Hot smoked duck has a special aroma and taste. It can be stored for a long time at a certain temperature. Smoked meat is prepared in a smokehouse, in a frying pan or on an open fire.
