Tea-Brined Mahogany Duck
- 8 cups water
- 1/2 cup Darjeeling or oolong tea leaves
- 3 slices fresh ginger
- 2 star anise pods
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 (3-pound) ducks, or 1 (5-pound) roasting chicken
- 1 cup reserved tea brine (above)
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey
- To make the brine, combine the water, tea leaves, ginger, and star anise in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Remove from the heat and let steep for 30 minutes.
- In a large nonreactive container, combine the steeped tea, soy sauce, and honey and stir until the honey is dissolved.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Add the bird(s) to the brine; refrigerate ducks for 4 hours, chicken for 6 hours.
- Keep the bird(s) submerged by placing a plate on top to weight down and at a temperature of not more than 40F.
- Remove from the brine 1 hour before cooking.
- Rinse and pat dry.
- Prepare a medium-hot fire (400F) in a wood-fired oven or cooker.
- To make the basting sauce, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir until the honey is dissolved.
- To roast in a box roaster, place the bird(s) breast side down on a wire roasting rack in a roasting pan or clay baker and baste with the basting sauce.
- Light the charwood once the bird(s) is in place.
- Roast, covered, with indirect heat for 1 hour.
- Being careful not to pierce the skin, turn over, baste, and roast for 30 to 45 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in a thigh registers 175 to 180F.
- To roast in a wood-fired oven or ceramic cooker such as a Big Green Egg, place the bird(s) breast side down in a roasting pan and baste with the basting sauce.
- Roast for 1 hour.
- Being careful not to pierce the skin, turn over, baste, and roast for 30 to 45 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in a thigh registers 175 to 180F.
- Let sit for 10 minutes before carving and serving.
water, darjeeling, ginger, anise pods, soy sauce, honey, chicken, brine, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, honey
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/tea-brined-mahogany-duck-391785 (may not work)