tea smoked duck

Many years ago when we lived in Los Feliz (and rent was $525/month for a 1 bedroom apartment), we held a garage sale and some friends came over with orange juice and vodka to liven up the sales. In fact the sales went so well (sold some nice skirts to the guy next door, and my Doc Martins went to the lady who took all of our clay pots, etc.) that we went back into the apartment many times scouring the place for more things, anything, to sell.
I had a little bit of that feeling this week after getting my sea legs with the Ibushi Gin Donabe Smoker. I trolled the kitchen wondering what else I could possibly put in that little pot belly. Soy sauce! Cod roe! Salt!

If I could only smoke one thing in the whole world however, it would be tea-smoked duck. Hands down.
OK, maybe a hard boiled egg. OK, maybe a slab of pork cheek. Well, it would be in my top three things, alone on my smoking desert island.

Here is the smoking goods: rice, lapsang souchong tea, brown sugar and pieces of cinnamon.

The duck breast is crosshatched, then marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, and Shaoxing rice wine. I ran out of time so it was only marinated for two hours, but I sprinkled it with Sichuan peppercorns before searing the skin and tossing it into the smoker.

Like the communist party that promises a bowl of rice for every person, we promise a shaft of crispy skin on every slice.

Quality taste tested and approved.