This Duck and Andouille Gumbo recipe takes some time so I would
recommend it be a weekend project for a Sunday meal. Duck and Andouille
Gumbo can use Muscovy duck which is
recommended but Teal, Mallard and even Poule d'eau will work just fine. The
smoke flavor adds just the right touch.
You must first prepare the ducks. Figure one duck and one lb. Andouille per
four people if they're big ducks.
Wild Duck Preparation: Wash ducks well and put in a zipper bag. In 2
cups of milk add 1 tsp. granulated or powdered garlic and 2 tsp. celery
salt and stir. Pour into bag. Get as much air out of the bag as you can
and seal. Put in the icebox overnight or at least 6 hours. Remove ducks
and discard milk. Doing this will help remove the wild flavor of the
duck. Season the duck and smoke with mesquite wood.
Domestic Duck Preparation: Sprinkle creole seasoning and garlic powder
all over duck and under skin. Mix 2 tbs. Worcestershire and 1 tsp.
liquid smoke and rub the duck down with it. Put in a zipper bag and let
marinate in the icebox for a few hours. Remove and smoke with mesquite
wood.
Smoking the Ducks: If you have a smoker follow the instructions and
smoke until ducks are tender. On a pit, put the ducks in a shallow pan
and just cover the bottom of the pan with water. Loosely cover the pan
with foil in a tent sort of fashion. You want to keep the moisture in
and also let the smoke in. Be sure to maintain the water in the pan. You
may want to use a cheap throw-away aluminum pan since cleaning it after
the process will be tough. Smoke the ducks with mesquite wood away from
the fire until tender.
When you remove the ducks from the pit put about 4 quarts of water to
boil with:
2 rough-cut stalks of celery
2 rough-cut carrots
1 small quartered onion.
When ducks have cooled remove all meat, keep the bones. Cut the larger
pieces of duck into bite sized pieces.
Put duck bones in boiling water and simmer for 1 hour. Strain and retain
the stock for the gumbo, discard bones and vegetables. Remember you can
control the duck taste of the gumbo by adding water or withholding duck
stock.
From here on out you can make your favorite gumbo recipe except you want
to triple the amount of celery used if you're working with wild game.
You would naturally make the proper size gumbo for the number of birds
you're cooking.
Enjoy...